


The black phoenix of Russia

by Linvn2289



Category: Beyblade
Genre: Brutal Murder, Drug Use, F/M, Gen, Oral Sex, Rape, Rough Sex, Sex, murders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:40:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 153,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26375869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linvn2289/pseuds/Linvn2289
Summary: Anastasia Grekov's world came crashing down when her family got murdered. Now her only mission in life is getting to the one responsible so that she can avenge her family's death by killing him. The only problem is, that he is the most feared mob boss in all of Russia, and getting to him will not be easy. "In order to get to a snake in its own habitat, you have to become a snake".





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, it has been a really long time since I have uploaded anything up here, so yeah, I am going to start posting my current story, The black phoenix of Russia. It is an incredibly long story and I will try to keep updates regular. This story is almost completed on fanfiction [currently at 70 chapters], also under the same name [story but author name is Linvn89] and strangely enough, it has not been removed yet seeing as some scenes are heavy and explicit, and everyone knows that they do not tolerate those scenes over there, but I am fortunate up until now.  
> There will not always be AN and there will be no warnings before hand; just know already that this story gets very dark at times and is not for sensitive readers; as most stories, it does take time before it gets to the good stuff, but the characters have to build over time.  
> I do hope you guys enjoy it, and comments are welcome ;-)

CHAPTER 1 – Last reunion

It is winter and the outskirt plains of Moscow are covered in a blanket of white, stretching as far as the eye can see; snow everywhere, displaying a beautiful frozen desert, mystical and breath taking. Two birds are conversing in a tree nearby but takes off suddenly as the echo of a gunshot suddenly rips through the quiet and white icy plains; crimson liquid is starting to taint a once perfect patch of white snow, which were clear of any imperfections but no more, the crimson liquid the clear indication of a life that has just come to an end, and all that it took was one bullet. As the crimson liquid flows into the snow, the life drains away from the person that has been shot.

(8 years earlier)

“I have to hang up, bro, but I will see you guys in a couple of days’ time okay?” 

“You better, otherwise I will have to come to America and kick the ass of that person that is preventing my little sister from visiting her family and her adorable big brother.”

“Adorable? Who is feeding you such horse shit?” the blonde haired girl laughs, the black haired man on the other line also joining her in the laughter.

“Love you too, sis, see you soon.” 

“Love you too, bro, see soon, regards to mama and papa.” 

“Will do.” 

The two people hangs up. 

Anastasia Grekov, a 22 year old student at Yale, a beautiful Russian young lady, with her long sleek blonde hair and spring green coloured eyes is currently in her dorm, busy packing for a three week long break in her home town, Moscow, and being a woman, she is packing for a year as that is just how a woman’s logic works: packing for any occasion that might come up. She is the younger of two children, having a brother that is five years older than her, Vladimir Grekov. He still stays in Moscow along with their parents, Ivan and Alisa Grekov, although he lives in his own penthouse. Anastasia hasn’t seen her family in more than five months as she is just too busy with exams and practical classes and assignments, all those things that keep students from having a life. She is in her fourth year at Yale, studying to become a veterinary surgeon as her passion is helping animals and caring for them.

Anastasia has lots of friends but only a select few that she calls close friends. She is always full of smiles and full of positive energy; whenever she walks into a room, she just lights up the atmosphere with her personality, and she is not hard to miss as she is quite a tall lady, standing at 5’9, an intimidating height to many of her fellow male students, but she does not use her height to intimidate people, that is just not her style. She is always willing to help someone, no matter what type of problem they may face. Everyone knows Anastasia as a bubbly blonde, always joking, despite many of the jokes being crude and blunt, sometimes making her parents and brother cringe at what comes out of her mouth, but that is just what makes the young Grekov unique and so loveable. Anastasia is also very honest and direct, not caring whether she hurts someone’s feelings whenever she has to tell them something; she always says ‘the truth will set you free’, and because of that philosophy of hers, many cherish her opinion, no matter how hurtful it might be, and everyone knows where they stand with Anastasia.

Anastasia can also be very serious when the moment calls for it, and she knows when to act mature; she is after all not a bimbo, society always saying that blondes are bimbos which is not the truth at all; hair colour has got nothing to do with one’s intelligence. 

Her brother, Vladimir, is also very tall, standing at 6’3. He has got his mother’s colour hair, pitch black, but he also has the spring green coloured eyes. Both he and his sister are what one can define as people born with a natural beauty, because since they were children, they always managed to attract attention to themselves due to their natural good looks; Anastasia does not need to wear make-up to look beautiful because she already looks that way with her natural black coloured eyelashes and her very dark brown eyebrows, the eyelashes and eyebrows fitting perfectly with her blonde hair; Vladimir also looks like he had been picked out of a modelling magazine, and he has even had a few offers from various modelling companies during his student days, but he has turned them all down, saying that he is not an object that can be bought so that people can fantasise all types of horrendous things with him; he finds it overall very disturbing.  
\  
The two siblings are very close to each other and always try their best to talk to each other at least twice a week, whether it is over Skype or telephone. Vladimir did not study in America like his sister; he went to Oxford at the age of 16 as he is a genius. He is one of the best prosecutors in Moscow and is a member of the Advokature, despite being so young, and he has successfully put away quite a few hard criminals for life. His main goal in life is to become the Prosecutor General of Russia one day, and he is working hard to get there one day. Vladimir seems like a nice and quiet persecutor, that is until he comes into the courtroom; then he is beyond vicious. Vladimir’s co-workers gave him the nickname ‘Pit bull’. He concentrates mostly on corrupt business men, and he would like to bring down the various mob bosses that are all around in Russia, not just in Moscow. Despite many considering it very dangerous to take on mob bosses, Vladimir is not bothered at all by the deaths threats he receives from the people he is prosecuting, because in his eyes they are all just empty threats.

Ivan Grekov, their father, is a bank manager at one of the elite banks in Moscow and the bank has branches all over Russia. He has blonde hair with spring green coloured eyes and is also tall, although Ivan is a bit shorter than his son. He stands at 6’1. He has been married to Alisa Grekov for 29 years already, and they still seem very much in love with each other. Alisa Grekov, with her long black hair and blue eyes, also has a successful career, being the owner of three five star restaurants and being a five star chef herself, although she rarely works in the kitchen now a day. The whole adrenaline rush in the kitchen has lost its charm for her, and now she prefers doing the office works, however, she does cook for her family at special occasions, for example when they are all together for a visit. She is the shortest of the family, her height only being 5’4, which means she gets teased a lot by her husband and her children, but it is all just innocent fun.

The Grekov’s do have other family members in Moscow, but they rarely get to spend time together as everyone is just too busy with their own lives. They all try their best to see each other at least twice a year, almost like a small family reunion. Anastasia’s life is what many will classify as perfect; there is no family drama, no dark past or secrets, just all love and respect. And that is how she has known it her whole life, and she would feel very blessed if it continues like this for the rest of her life. She does not have a boyfriend at the moment as she does not have the time for one, but she does want to get married one day and have her own family. Vladimir is also single, mostly because of his work, and just like his sister, he does not have time for a relationship, but it does not prevent him from having the occasional fling every once in a while, just so that he can blow off some steam.

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“Attention all passengers, please fasten your seat belts as we will land shortly in the city of Moscow. Thank you for flying with us....” 

Anastasia does’t pay attention to the flight attendant making the announcements, she already knows it by heart; she just wants the plane to land already so that she can get off and go and see her family. She does feel tired, because she was just too excited on the flight to fall asleep, Anastasia feeling like a little child waiting for Christmas morning. She may be staying for only three weeks, but for her that is more than enough; even a day would have been enough, as long as she gets to spend at least a couple of hours with her family. She will be staying with Vladimir for a week, then with her parents for a week, and then the last week both she and Vladimir will be staying at their parents’ house in their old rooms in which they grew up in.

The plane finally lands and comes to a halt at its gate. Everything feels extra slow for Anastasia, everyone just taking their time in moving on. 

‘One would swear these people don’t have lives to get to. I should have put laxatives in the coffee, then they most definitely would have done anything but walk this slow,’ the blonde thinks to herself, an almost evil grin appearing on her face as she continues to walk in a slow pace in between the other passengers. 

After a few more minutes of walking in between the slow poaches as Anastasia classifies the passengers from the plane, which felt like an eternity to her, she finally gets out of the crowd and the first person she spots is her brother. The two siblings run to each other when they spot each other. Vladimir lifts her up in his arms the moment his sister reaches him, swinging her around, while their parents make their way towards their children. Anastasia left her luggage half way in the middle of the crowd when she ran to her brother. 

“Finally! I was starting to forget I have a baby sister!”

“Oh please, we talked a couple of days ago. Mama, papa! I have missed you guys so much!” she greeted her parents.

After exchanging all the kisses and hugs, the two males collect the luggage and murmurs to each other about how women do not have the slightest idea on how to pack. The two females just shoot them a glare and walks ahead of the luggage carrying men to the car.

They all went to Vladimir’s penthouse first so that they can drop off Anastasia’s entire luggage. Anastasia freshened up, and afterwards that, they all went to one of Alisa’s restaurants for a good meal. The family were there for a couple of hours, they did not even see the time fly. They parted at the restaurant, the two siblings heading back to Vladimir’s place, but Anastasia fell asleep in the car on the way back to Vladimir’s place, totally exhausted. He could just smile at his little sister. He has some fun activities planned for him and his sister for the duration that she will be staying with him. He has already taken some time off from work so that he can spend time with his sister; he just has to go into the office some time the next day. 

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“Tell me again why are we here at your office? I thought you said you took a few days off.” 

“Stop whining, you are no longer a baby, and besides, I just have to come sign a few papers. Stay in my office, and please don’t cause any chaos.” 

Anastasia just rolls her eyes at her brother, sticking out her tongue, Vladimir just chuckling at his sister before leaving his office. Anastasia starts to look around her brother’s office.

‘Typical Vladimir style; if I didn’t know any better I would have thought that this office belongs to a gay guy, but then again, Vladimir is addicted to tidiness.’ 

The office is very modern, real city metro man style; designer chair at his desk and two long black velvet couches; a few interesting paintings that does not look bad at all, a few oriental ornaments here and there. The main colour scheme is black, white and silver. He has a beautiful view over the city, and for a few minutes, Anastasia just found herself being mesmerized by the view outside, the young Grekov having a perfect view over the Moscow River; the other skyscrapers just compliment the entire scene. The office of Vladimir is overall a very cosy, yet neat office, just like how she knows her brother. She can definitely see herself working in such an office, but the exact same office, with the exact same scenery on the inside and the incredible view on the outside.

Since they had been children, Vladimir had always been the neat one, not that Anastasia wasn’t neat herself, but her brother was more of a perfectionist; everything had to be sorted or to be in line, it was always amusing to her to see a male acting like that way. She was always under the impression that the woman is supposed to be the perfectly clean and organised gender, but according to her brother it is a whole different situation. He really does not need a woman to clean up after him, and it will most probably be the other way around, him being the one cleaning up after the woman. Anastasia smiles at this thought. Oh how she loves her brother, she will do anything for him, just like he will do anything for her. It was a sad and depressed occasion when she had left for America but Vladimir had understood, and he had to accept that his baby sister is growing up and starting to live her own life. If she would have stayed in Moscow, there is no doubt that they would have moved in together. Vladimir is her best friend, as she is his.

Anastasia turns away from the spectacular view, and turns to Vladimir’s office desk, looking at the few photo frames that are displayed on his desk; one is of their parents when they went on their second honeymoon; this had occurred just after Anastasia had left for America. There is a photo where all four of them are seated together, it was taken two years ago at her one cousin’s wedding, that was a proper celebration and party. Finally she looks at the last photo, and picks up the frame to look closer at the photo. It is of her and Vladimir, at a new years’ party in New York when he and their parents came to visit her. They were hanging off of each other, clearly no longer sober but the fire of life is visible in both of their eyes, the laughter and happiness just radiating from both of them. Anastasia places the frame back on the desk and just then Vladimir comes walking in.

“Wow, my office is still standing.” 

“Ha ha, I am not that destructive terrorist anymore.” 

“Seeing is believing, my dear sister. We will see in what condition my penthouse will be when you leave.”

Anastasia just gasps at that statement, pretending that her brother has just deeply offended her, causing Vladimir to just chuckle at his sister’s antics.

Vladimir walks over to a filing cabinet with a grin on his face; Anastasia does not even have a remark for her brother and so, decides that she would leave her brother while he looks for whatever he is searching for, while she continues to look around some more on his desk. Anastasia spots a file with a picture slightly poking out on top of Vladimir’s desk which she did not see earlier, and without even looking at the name on the file, she pulls out the photo.

“Holy shit!” she exclaims when seeing the guy on the photo.

“What?! What?!” Vladimir suddenly asks in a startled voice, his sister’s sudden outburst scaring the shit out of him. 

Anastasia just shows the photo at him with a huge grin on her face. 

“Who is this hot guy? Is it even legal to be this good-looking?” the grin growing bigger the longer she holds onto the photo. 

Vladimir suddenly feels how his blood runs cold when he realises just who exactly is on that photo, but tries his best to cover up his sudden nervousness. 

“You know it is against company policy to share client information, twerp.” 

“I’m not asking his life story, just curious of whom this hunk is.”

Vladimir just sighs, hoping he can get Anastasia’s attention away from the guy in some way by just telling her bits and pieces of the man. “If you had stayed in Moscow you would have recognised him immediately. That is Kai Hiwatari, one of the most powerful and successful business men in all of Russia, despite being only 25; he is the CEO of Hiwatari Enterprises, the military manufacturing company.”

“Damn, is he like a prodigy or what?” 

“I don’t know, all I know is that he inherited the company from his grandfather at a young age. Just put back the photo, and let’s get out of here; I am starving for a greasy breakfast.” 

“Fine, fine, but I still want to know more about this hunk.” 

Anastasia looks at the photo for a few seconds more before she is going to place it back into the folder. The young man in the photo has to be the most gorgeous man she has ever laid her eyes on; brown coloured eyes, although on closer inspection it looks like a mixture between chocolate and caramel, his eyes being complimented with thick black eyelashes; a strong jaw line, the perfect jaw shape for a man with beautiful light fair skin colour, two toned hair colour, the front part being that of the colour of Air force blue; the back being the colour of Oxford blue, his hair in a messy yet very attractive hairstyle, a few bangs hanging in his face, his eyebrows also being the same colour as the front of his hair, Air force blue, and the most kissable lips she has ever seen on a man. Anastasia can feel how her knees are becoming like jelly the longer she stares at the photo. She is abruptly brought out of her trance when Vladimir clears his throat.

“If you have stopped drooling, can we please go?” 

“Can I have his number?” 

“No.” 

“But...” 

“No.”

Vladimir waits at the door and watches as his sister walks past him with that puppy look in her eyes, a look that he knows very well by now, but also a look to which he has successfully build up a strong immune against, she just doesn’t know it yet. Vladimir glances back at the file of Kai Hiwatari one last time, another cold rush going through his body, before he closes the door of his office and leaves with his sister.

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The siblings had spent the whole day in the city, doing all kinds of activities, activities like shopping, eating, sight-seeing, and just catching up on what is new in each other’s lives. Both Vladimir and Anastasia believe that siblings all over the world has to spend quality time together because it just strengthens the bond, and it also magically heals each other, should one go through some emotions, the other can fix it by just spending some time together, and strangely enough, a lot have already agreed with the two siblings about that belief of them.

Soon enough night time has arrived, and for the two Grekov siblings, night time means party time. The two always have a fun time whenever they go out together; sure, their friends always joins them but that just adds to the fun. In the past the two siblings had always tried to out drink each other with vodka shots, but this little competition usually only took place just before the club closes and when everyone is almost heading home. Vladimir’s friends are all very protective over Anastasia, seeing as she had grown up with them all, and she feels like a little sister to them all. Whenever she hooks up with a guy at a club, they torment the poor soul, which annoys Anastasia a lot, but at least she knows that they are doing it out of love. 

Tonight the siblings have agreed that there will be no hook-ups, no matter who they find. They can dance and mingle, but that is where it stays. Anastasia seems to have forgotten about the guy in the photo for now; she had pestered Vladimir a bit more in the car after they had left his office but luckily for him, the outing took Anastasia’s mind off of the two-toned haired man; Vladimir just hopes and prays that his sister will not bring it up again. 

Vladimir really does not want his sister to get involved with someone like that; he would much rather prefer it if she goes for a vet, a doctor, or environmental lawyer, someone who cares a lot about others, and who wants to make a difference in the world. He does not want his sister to get involved with soldiers, sports stars or business men, because all of them have ego problems, are very greedy and are serial cheaters, and his little sister does not deserve be with someone like that; she deserves much more, because she is worth so much more, and there is no way he wants his sister to ever end up with someone like Kai Hiwatari. 

Hiwatari may be young but he is a very, very dangerous man. Too many people have ended up on his wrong side, and unfortunately they have not lived to see a new day arrive, and neither has anyone been able to do anything to Hiwatari. Many have tried to gather evidence against the young man, but they all have failed miserably and therefore they had paid with their lives for their failures and ignorance. Vladimir has no interest in fighting Hiwatari in court; unfortunately some of his co-workers feel differently, hence the file in his office. He wants to see what they have managed to gather against the business mogul. He knows for a fact that the moment they try to take on Hiwatari, they will pay dearly for it, and he who is Vladimir, is not going to do anything about it; he knows when a battle is not worth fighting for. Hiwatari is probably the only person that he will never take on, for various reasons. He is not a coward, not at all, he just knows what is essential in life and that sometimes life takes you on a journey that you will never understand, but that one is still grateful for being on, this is one of those journeys for Vladimir. He knows for a fact that he will never end up on the path where he will have to fight Hiwatari in the court, and he is grateful for that.

The night commences, being filled with nothing but joy and happiness, the siblings celebrating Anastasia’s arrival back in Moscow, and the two siblings and their friends intend to party until sunrise. They have already arranged for a cab to come pick and them up as soon as they are ready to leave. Anastasia had manage to find a very innocent looking young man, and after the excruciating interview by her brother and friends, he was allowed to dance with Anastasia, but the poor thing was too petrified to do anything; this resulted in Anastasia dumping his ass after just one dance. There is no way she is going to continue to dance with someone who does not have the balls to face anything. 

Soon enough she had found another guy to dance with, a very handsome man; broad shoulders, brown hair with blue steaks, brown eyes, and an enormous tattoo of a dragon on his left arm. The two clicked immediately on the dance floor and soon enough they were dancing very provocatively with each other, and it did not sit good with her brother at first, but later on he just decided that his baby sister is all grown up, and that she can take care of herself, and he knows that his sister will not jump into bed with just any random guy. She will make-out with them like crazy and maybe let them get to second base with her, but that is where it stops.

Anastasia continued dancing the night through with the guy, hands all over each other but never once did they kiss. Soon enough it was almost time for the club to close, roughly only an hour left. Anastasia ditched the guy and headed over to her brother where the two siblings started their legendary rivalry of who can consume the most vodka shots in one minute, which seems like a very long time, almost too long, but it is how they have been playing it since the brother and sister had started partying together. This time it was Anastasia that had won, but only with one shot. 

“What the hell do you do overseas? Just drink the whole time or what?” Vladimir asks his sister, he still trying to come to grips with his loss.

Anastasia just laughs at her brother’s sore loser remark.

“No bro, we just do things a bit differently....wow....” 

Anastasia suddenly grabs hold of the table that they are standing around, because she has just started to feel the effects of her victory, and she is becoming unstable on her feet, joining her brother who has also started struggling in keeping his balance. Their friends know that the vodka has just reached their systems, and now the Grekov siblings are going to put on a show of hilarious drunkenness. 

Soon they all left the club, but the friends went to an old familiar spot where they had always watched the sunrise in the past. Vladimir and his sister unfortunately did not witness the sunrise this time, as both them have passed out in the back if Mika’s car, their friend since childhood. The cab Vladimir had booked for him and his sister were long forgotten. The two siblings had stumbled out of the club earlier, talking and laughing so much, the others could not help but get intoxicated with this, and also joined in on the craziness. 

After the sun had risen, the friends headed back to Vladimir’s penthouse, so that the Grekov siblings can be put to bed to sleep off their drunkenness.

Mika is Vladimir’s very close friend, and he has a spare key to his penthouse, mostly for emergencies, and this is one of those emergencies. Mika carried Anastasia up while Oleg and Viktor carried Vladimir up to the penthouse while the three ladies, Natasha, Astrid and Saskia carried the belongings of Vladimir and Anastasia. Anastasia was snoring like someone who is in a very deep sleep and she has even managed to lose one of her boots, luckily the ladies had found it in the car. The two siblings did not even move an inch while they were being taken to their sleeping places; they were completely out.

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“I can’t believe three weeks have already flown like this, it sucks.”

“Yeah well, you are the one that had decided to go and study so far.”

“You really are a shitty brother, Vlad. I am already feeling like shit because I have to go back, and now you are giving me the guilt trip; you really suck,” Anastasia says with a pretend scowl on her face while playfully giving her brother a punch on his left upper arm.

“You are supposed to make me feel better, not crappier.” 

“Boo hoo, cry me a river,” Vladimir says, while nursing his upper arm. Apparently Anastasia’s punch was not that playful after all. 

“Mama, talk to your son; he is being an ass again. You know, bro, for a killer prosecutor, you can be a real jackass.” 

Vladimir just grins at his sister, “I try,” and then winks at her, “Come here, twerp,” and then pulls his sister into a tight hug. “I am really going to miss you, you know that right.” 

“I know, but I will also miss you. I am just a phone call away, alright? We can still talk like that, and hopefully I can come see you guys again, hopefully in about three month’s time.”

“You never know, my child, maybe we will come and surprise you in the states.” 

“That would be so cool.”

Anastasia leaves her brother’s embrace to go and hug her mother and father, the two elders just holding their daughter for several minutes, not wanting to let her go.

“Thanks for everything you guys; now I am ready to face the world again, and if I don’t say it enough, I apologise, but I really, really love you guys, with my entire being, and I thank God everyday for blessing me with you guys; I could not have asked for a better family,” the tears starting to well up in her eyes, and her voice also starting to become a bit shaky, almost sounding like she is on the brink of starting to cry.

“You guys are my reason for living and I hope we get to reach our old age together.” 

Alisa pulls her daughter into another tight embrace, both women crying by now. The men just roll their eyes at the two women’s dramatic embrace, but also join in on the embrace of the two sobbing women.

It is a very emotional farewell for the four Grekov family members, just like all the other farewells, but they know that this is for the best for Anastasia. They all just want her to be happy, and they want the best for her and this is the best for young Anastasia. Luckily it is not like she is moving to another planet and hopefully soon enough they all will be together again.

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It is night time in Moscow. The skies are covered as snow has been forecasted for the next couple of days, meaning the skies will give off a gloomy feel most of the time, much to the dismay of so many people. On the outskirts of the city is a huge manor situated, three storeys and in old Victorian style. Beautiful gardens, a very large estate, majestic garden statues, one of a huge phoenix standing out the most, and despite it being an old manor, it has been renovated to look more modern. This is the Feniks manor, and it belongs to Kai Hiwatari, which he has inherited from his grandfather, Voltaire Hiwatari. This is one of two manors; the other one, Hiwatari manor, is situated about 11 miles from this one. Each manor serves its specific purpose; this one is for all of Kai’s illegal dealings and for all the members of The Chernyy Feniks mob to stay at whenever they feel like it; it is also the place where all types of horrendous things take place, things like torturing and murdering. The Hiwatari Manor is where Kai lives and where he holds meetings regarding his legal businesses, and the mob is not welcome there, only a few select members of the mob are actually allowed to enter the Hiwatari manor premises, but only when Kai invites them over.

Kai Hiwatari is the leader of one of the most brutal, dangerous and strongest mobs, The Chernyy Feniks mob. His grandfather had started the mob when he was just 27 years old, which is quite some time ago. Voltaire had build up his empire, in the hopes that his son, Alec, will take it over one day, both the business and the mob, but unfortunately Voltaire’s son Alec, and his wife, Mila, were killed in a car accident, when their only son, Kai, was just ten months old; luckily the boy was not present with his parents on that horrific day. It later came to light that the accident was orchestrated by a puny gang; the culprits were caught and dealt with personally by Voltaire, but it did not bring back his son and daughter in law. 

Voltaire took in his only grandchild and decided that he is going to raise young Kai to be a ruthless warrior, heartless and calculated so that he can take over the business and the mob one day; Voltaire had also lost his wife to terminal brain cancer when their son was only a teenager. Voltaire knew that Kai will make a success of both the business and the mob as he has seen the child’s potential at a young age, and he knew it had actually been fate that his son got killed. Kai had surpassed all of his grandfather’s expectations, his martial arts training, weaponry training, everything Voltaire threw at him, Kai had excelled in; even in his education he was a genius, always being at the top of the class with his marks. Kai went to study for a business degree in order to prepare himself for the takeover of Hiwatari Enterprises one day. Kai is literate in five languages; Russian, Japanese, French, English and Spanish. Voltaire was beyond proud of his grandson of how Kai was already keeping the family name high and respected at his young age.

Voltaire introduced Kai to the dark world of organised crime at only 15, but immediately the boy was hooked, knowing that one day all of that power will belong to him. He knew that the day his grandfather will pass away, he will take over everything; unfortunately that was not about to happen any time soon, as Voltaire had not shown any sign of leaving this life behind any time soon.

Voltaire was too blinded by his pride for his grandson that he had failed to notice how power hungry Kai was becoming. The older Kai got, the more impatient the young man got in waiting for the old man to die. So, two days before his 18th birthday, Kai pretended to have an innocent conversation with his grandfather to try and find out if the old man’s will is in order, without raising any suspicion. Voltaire did not suspect anything, and gladly told Kai that everything has been set in order for his take over one day. Without him realising it, Voltaire had placed his own nails into his coffin the moment he had divulged that information to his grandson. 

Kai’s 18th birthday was a huge celebration; all the important people were invited, from both the business and the mob world, so that they can all meet the future leader of both; they all were under the impression that it would be another few years before Kai takes his rightful place, not knowing that the young man had other plans regarding his take over.

Four days after his 18th birthday, Kai walked into his grandfather’s study, under the pretence of asking some advice. Voltaire was busy with orders for Hiwatari Enterprises and did not focus 100% on Kai, which was the old man’s downfall. That night was the night that Kai had killed his grandfather by slitting his throat, leaving the old man to bleed to death, while Kai just stood and watched over his grandfather, just to make sure that he dies. Kai was so power hungry that he could not wait for the old man to die of natural causes one day, and took it upon himself to speed things up; he had wanted all of that power and he had wanted it now. 

The murder was covered up, making it look like it were burglars that had killed his grandfather; however no one was ever prosecuted in the murder of Voltaire Hiwatari. Kai at least had the decency to arrange a proper funeral for Voltaire, having the old man cremated. His ashes were placed in an ancient vase and Kai had a very special chapel built at the back of the estate at the Hiwatari manor to pay his last respects to his grandfather; Kai may have killed his grandfather, but he did not hate his grandfather; in fact, he had loved his grandfather very much, but he just loved power more, and so he just could not wait any longer to have complete power and control, and he just had to kill his grandfather in order to feed his hunger. The chapel that Kai had built is kept in good condition as Kai feels it is what Voltaire deserves. Kai does miss his grandfather on some occasions seeing as his grandfather was all family that he had left, but these moments are only brief before Kai shakes them off and continues being the cold and heartless young man that he is known for.

Since Kai had taken over, Hiwatari Enterprises has become the most successful and leading military manufacturing company in the world, having offices in a few cities, cities like Tokyo, London, and Paris, the main office being in Moscow where Kai is most of the time. The Chernyy Feniks mob has also become the most feared mob in Russia, expanding its allies and territory. In seven years Kai has proved to everyone that he is a force to be reckoned with, in both the corporate and criminal world. He has made a name for himself, no longer being known as the grandson of Voltaire Hiwatari, but is now known as Kai Hiwatari, the black phoenix of Russia. 

The territory of The Chernyy Feniks mob includes Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Netherlands and France. Each territory has a person in charge which Kai has personally picked and appointed, and they all have their various responsibilities. The criminal activities of the mob includes racketeering, extortion, arms trafficking, illegal gambling, cybercrimes, human trafficking, prostitution, drug running, drug trafficking, robbery, arson, bribery, money laundering, fraud, murder, contract killing and motor vehicle theft. 

Kai has turned both interests of him into a multi-billion dollar success, making him one of the richest bachelors in the whole of Europe and Asia district. In the organised crime world, Kai has gained the respect of many. They have come to know him as ruthless but brilliant, although Kai is a very quiet young man. He only speaks when he feels it is necessary; they all know him as not being one to chit chat. Kai knows how to strike fear into anyone with his famous glare. Just one look from him is enough to let anyone crack and confess their deepest and darkest secrets to him. Kai has decided from the beginning of his take-over that he will not mix his corporate world with the crime world, a foolish thing that his grandfather had done in the past. The employees with the business will only be involved in the business; the people involved in the mob will only be involved in the mob, there will be no mixing of the two.

Despite being a very respected and feared young man, Kai’s mob does have its enemies, as it is in life, although the enemies are not many. The main thorn in Kai’s side is The Checken mafia, also a Russian based mob residing mostly in Moscow. Their leader, Boris Balkov, has been having problems with The Chernyy Feniks since Voltaire’s time, and that all out of jealousy. Kai does not really know the whole story; all he knows is that Boris is forever trying to destroy him, with no luck up until now. The only other three enemies of Kai are The Caucasian Mujahadeen, Al-Queda and the Tambov gang. Other than that, no one dares to be an enemy of The Chernyy Feniks, because they know that Kai will destroy them without showing the slightest sign of mercy.

Kai is currently in the middle of training; both of his hands are wrapped in bandages, with knuckle busters on, busy punching and kicking a big brown material bag with all the strength and force that he can muster, all in the comfort of a pair of loose fitting black exercise pants. Two guards are standing at the door watching everything. This training room is Kai’s personal training room and only he is allowed to train in here. The only other time when someone else is allowed to train here is when Kai personally invites that person, and then it is also just to spar or practice fighting with that person. The training room is a large room with various gym equipment and floor mats to break the fall of whoever is thrown to the floor, and this room also contains various weapons, mostly Japanese samurai weapons with which Kai is very skilled in.

Kai is 6’3, making him even more intimidating than he already is; he is very toned and muscular, Kai taking very good care of himself. All visible muscles are toned to perfection, making him even more gorgeous; he has a barb wire tattoo circling all around his right upper arm, and a pair of black phoenix wings tattoos that almost covers his entire back, the winged tattoos starting where his shoulder blades are situated and ending just right above the small of his back; a mystical sun tattoo is around his navel, and a stud through his left nipple. If Anastasia caught sight of this current view, she most definitely would have fainted.

Kai’s body is covered in sweat, but he has not shown any sign of stopping anytime soon as he continues to kick the bag and punching it with his knuckle busters. Just then the two wooden doors slides open, a young man with ruby coloured hair walking in, the hair gelled into the style of two horns on each side of his head, and by the built of his body, he is also toned like Kai. 

Tala Ivanov, Kai’s right hand in the mob and also his best friend; the two have known each other since childhood, as Tala’s father had worked for Voltaire. Tala had been appointed his current position when Kai had taken over, and Tala oversees all of the mob’s operations, handling most of the stuff. Kai is responsible for the major decisions, like finding new allies and extending their territory. All the others that are in charge in the various territories mostly reports to Tala, seeing as he only has to run the mob. Kai cannot handle both the business and the mob at the same time, and that is why he has appointed Tala, whom he trusts the most. Tala makes all the minor decision; only when something is very important, will he go and discuss it with Kai, leaving whatever final decision up to Kai. Kai loves to kill and so is frequently involved in the killing and torturing of whomever needs to be killed or tortured; he lives for that type of thing.

Tala remains standing at the entrance for a few minutes, knowing well with what Kai is really busy with. After several more minutes of kicking and punching, Kai finally stops, and motions for his guards to open the bag. A bloodied body falls out, a young man with blonde hair.

One of the guards crouches beside the body and checks for a pulse, but finds none.

“He is dead, sir.” 

“Good. Burn the body and throw the ashes down the drain.” 

“Yes sir.” 

Kai starts removing his bandages from his hands after throwing the knuckle busters to the floor while watching how the guards pick up the bag after replacing the body back into it, each guard at a separate end and carries the body out of the room. Tala also looks on at the scene and even takes it upon himself to open and close the doors for the two men, and then the red haired man turns to Kai after the closing the door behind the guards. Kai takes a drink from a water bottle while Tala casually strolls towards him. 

“What did the poor soul do to deserve that, Kai?” 

“Hn. What is the situation in France?” 

“Mikhail and Brooklyn flew there yesterday. Those idiots that raided the warehouse has been caught and arrested. Unfortunately for them, the cells that they were all placed in seemed to have had some electrical problems, and they have all burned to death after the place caught fire; such a shame,” the clear sarcasm dripping from Tala’s voice, Kai knowing exactly what it all means.

“Good. I take it the electrical problems were thanks to Mikhail’s hands?” 

“He is the best in that territory of course; we have recovered all the drugs and ammo that they had stolen; Garland should be released from the hospital in about a week’s time.” 

“Good, I hate having someone in charge when it is not their assigned place. I hope your wife doesn’t expect you home soon.” 

“Why?” 

“I have something to do; I will fill you in on the way. We leave after I have taken a shower.” 

“Personal business?” 

“Hn.” 

Tala just rolls his eyes as Kai leaves the room. Kai is his best friend and he knows that Kai just loves to give his short answers, and sometimes he does not even bother answering at all, but that is what makes Kai so unique; he does not need words to express himself. His body language and his eyes are more than enough to say what he is feeling or thinking; it is only a matter of understanding what he means, which unfortunately for many, has not learnt the art of that yet, much to Tala’s own amusement. He just loves it when people become frightened of Kai for no reason, and he will never get tired of seeing the effect that Kai has on so many different types of people.

Tala decides to go and make himself comfortable in the kitchen while he waits for his friend to finish with his shower, and for them to go and do whatever has to be done.

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Anastasia is sitting in class, but her attention is not on her professor. It has already been two weeks since she has arrived back from Moscow. She is distracted and worried, and that all thanks to a phone call that she has received from Vladimir about two days ago. 

FLASHBACK

“I love you, Anastasia, and don’t you ever forget it.” 

“What’s going on, bro? You never call me by my name. What is going on, Vladimir? You know you can tell me.” 

She heard her brother give a nervous chuckle, “Nothing is wrong. Can’t a brother tell his sister that he loves her?” 

“That’s bullshit, and you know it, Vladimir. Now tell me what is going on, or I swear I am going to remove all of your ball hair with a blunt tweezers,” Vladimir just chuckles again at that threat of his sister.

“Nothing, but look, I have to go. Take care of yourself, my sis, and remember that I will do anything to protect you and to ensure your safety, and that you are always in my heart.” 

“Okay, now you are really scaring me, Vladimir, please, be honest with me, please, what is going on?” 

Again Vladimir just chuckled, “Love you, sis, and take care. I have to go now. Never give up on your dreams, and never change who you are, always stay as beautiful as you are, my sis. Bye.” 

“Vladimir, wait, don’t......hang up.” 

END OF FLASHBACK

Anastasia has been trying to call her brother ever since then, but received no answer; even his office cannot help her; they just told her that Vladimir is on leave and no one knows when he will be back. She has been feeling very uneasy since that phone call. She has talked to her parents yesterday, but they have no clue of what was going on; they just told her that Vladimir had said that he wants to stay over at their place for the night; that alone is proof to Anastasia that something is wrong with her brother. Anastasia continues being lost in her thoughts when her name got called out. 

“You are needed in the office, Ms Grekov. There is a phone call for you.” 

At that moment Anastasia just felt how her stomach started burning, but she made her way to the office anyway. 

“Hello, this is Anastasia.” 

“Ana dear, how are you?” the phone call being from her aunt Monishka from Moscow.

“Fine, fine, and you aunt M?” 

Anastasia can hear how her aunt just sighs, and when the woman starts to speak again, her voice is very shaky. “Honey, I am so sorry to do this over the phone, but it....it is your parents and brother; they....they have been murdered, my dear.”


	2. Chapter 2

** CHAPTER 2 – I’m innocent **

The weather in Moscow is accompanying the current mood present at the graveyard where three beloved people are being put to their final resting place. Anastasia, dressed in black, is just standing there, not listening to what the priest is saying. She is completely dead on the inside. She may be alive, but on the inside she has died along with her parents and her brother. There are so many people present, old friends, colleagues, family members; all present to pay their last respects to the three deceased Grekov family members. So many tears are streaming from various pairs of eyes, hearts hurting over the sudden loss of three dearly beloved people. Anastasia just remains standing there, cold, looking at the three coffins, stationed over three six feet holes in the ground, waiting to be lowered, to be lowered away from the living world forever. She cannot cry anymore; there are no more tears left to cry.

A week has already passed since the murders of her family. Upon hearing the devastating news, Anastasia had just packed up all of her stuff, and left the States as soon as she could, leaving her studies to return to Moscow permanently. She did not know what she was really doing, it all was just a blur to her. After her aunt had told her the horrible news, everything went black around her, Anastasia waking up in a hospital bed. Apparently she had a panic attack, which she could not remember at all; she just wished that it was all a horrible nightmare. She was not allowed at her parents’ house when she returned from America, as the police thought it would be best if she did not see all of the blood. It was nothing gruesome, but still, seeing the blood that had been spilled from her loved ones is not an image that anyone should witness. The police had told her that her parents and her brother were asleep when their throats were slit, more like they were drugged, when the horrible murders had taken place. The autopsy report showed that all three of them were drugged with chloroform, meaning that they at least did not feel any pain when they were murdered. However, this brought no comfort to Anastasia.

The authorities are suspecting thieves because the place was a mess, with a few valuables missing, but they have not found any incriminating evidence up until now, but the search has not been completed. They will let Anastasia know the moment they have arrested any suspects. Anastasia has already been questioned, asking the young Grekov woman on whether she can think of anyone that might have wanted to harm her family, but she could not think of anyone.

Anastasia has been staying with her aunt the last couple of days, and even though the family have tried their best, they just cannot ease any of the young Grekov’s pain. She has hardly eaten anything since she has returned from America, and she has hardly slept, it almost like she is a living zombie. The will of her parents and her brother will be read in a month’s time, not that Anastasia cares about any of that. She does not want to know what she has inherited; she wants her parents and her brother back, not their earthly belongings.

Despite being a young adult, Anastasia feels like an orphan, all alone with no one to love her. She does have her aunts and uncles and cousins, but it is just not the same for her. Her parents’ beautiful female husky dog, Tasha, is also gone. No one knows whether she has been stolen or whether the dog has run away, but Anastasia is certain that the dog has been stolen or killed because Tasha is not the type of dog to run away from her home, no matter what the situation. Tasha was a very loving dog, but could become very vicious and murderous whenever someone had dared to be any threat to her human family, which was all four members of the Grekov household, and this just proves to Anastasia that the dog has most definitely been stolen. Tasha would have attacked the intruders, so the dog had to have been stolen before the murders had happened, leaving her parents without the protection of their well trusted four-legged companion.

What bothers Anastasia even more is the fact that her brother had spent the night at their parents the night of the murders. Vladimir had only slept there when she came to visit; other than that, he would never sleep over, no matter how late he stayed there on some nights. Something is not right, but not being a detective herself, she cannot investigate the crime scene herself. She just cannot shake the feeling that the burglary is not what it seems, like it is a front or cover-up for something much more sinister.

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It is a clear day, cold, but clear skies in the city of Moscow. In one of the tallest skyscrapers in Moscow, The Capital City Moscow Tower, on the top floor of the building, a business deal is busy coming to a close. Four people, a plum haired woman, and a very good-looking young man, have just signed a business deal which is worth millions.

Kai, the good-looking man, has just had a meeting with a CEO of a very promising company, asking him and his company to design a line of fighter jets for her company which they then want to sell to her country’s government.

Michelle Dubois is an incredible sexy woman, 32, and being a CEO, makes her even more attractive, as most men find it a very attractive quality in a woman when she knows how to exert power. She has been flirting innocently with Kai the entire meeting through, but Kai is use to this sort of behaviour from the opposite gender; there have even been a few men in the past that have tried to flirt with Kai, much to the young Hiwatari’s amusement. Kai never has a lack of women that are interested in him. It never fails to amuse him to see how easily they make themselves available for him, despite many of them being married, with what he can only guess, to faithful husbands.

With her plum hair, clipped up at the back of her head, light green eyes and plum coloured lips, Kai cannot help but feel very turned on by her appearance right now. His right hand man in the company, Nestar Sokolov, has also just been watching the entire scene play out in front of him; he hardly finds it surprising anymore when the business women flirt so shamelessly with his boss.

“I look forward to doing more business with you in the future, Mr Hiwatari, but for now I am very satisfied with the progress with the manufacturing of my jets. Pierre, please go start the car so long, I will be down shortly.”

The man named Pierre just bows his head to the other three occupants in the room, and then leaves. Nestor also takes this as a sign for him to leave. With a pleasant greeting to Michelle and a bow to Hiwatari, he too leaves the boardroom, closing the door behind him, leaving only Kai and Michelle in the boardroom. Kai is half leaning, half sitting on the glass table top of his elegant office desk, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, looking at Michelle with a smirk on his face. She is also just standing there, smirking at Kai in a very seductive way, until she proceeds to unclip her hair, leaving it to fall loosely over her shoulders, a gesture Kai finds very sexy as he watches her hair cascade over her shoulders, accentuating her facial features.

She sure is a sight to appreciate, with toned legs, a beautiful tanned skin, hips and breasts being the perfect size, meaning there is something to grab and hold onto, eyes that can bring any man to his knees, it all rounded off with her beautiful attire, a black tight fitting skirt reaching just above her knees, a green buttoned up long sleeved shirt that she has rounded off with a black scarf. The outfit complements her, not to mention the black stilettos that she is wearing, just enhancing her already toned and very sexy legs. Michelle has sex appeal written all over her, and Kai can tell that she has learned how to use that to her advantage, he seeing that by just how Michelle moves her body and in the manner that she speaks, it just oozes sex.

Michelle slowly strolls towards Kai, a glint in her eye that Kai recognises as lust and desire. She is still wearing a smirk on her face, that seductive smirk. She comes to stand still right in front of Kai, their bodies only a few inches away from each other. She is shorter than Kai, but because he is half sitting on his office desk, he is just a few inches above her, almost being at eye level with her.

Her voice sounds like that of a seductive female the moment she starts to speak, “What do you say I take you out to dinner tonight, Mr Hiwatari, you know, just to celebrate our deal, and to seal it properly, just the two of us. I know of a very good restaurant with exquisite food and wines, and if you are interested, also,” she leans closer to him so that she can talk huskily into his right ear, “I know of the perfect dessert to round off the meal.”

Kai can feel how his body suddenly starts to heat up by the feel of her hot breath against his skin, but he remains in his current position. Michelle takes her previous position, standing up straight, and just looks at him with her seducing eyes.

“Give your address to my PA, Ms Dubois, and I will pick you up at seven tonight, to celebrate our deal,” is all Kai says, he too now wearing a self satisfactory smirk while keeping his arms crossed in front of his chest.

With a very self satisfactory grin on her face, Michelle just winks at Kai, and then turns around, gathering her briefcase, and then turns towards the door to leave the office. She opens the door, and makes her way out, but just before she closes the door, she turns back around and looks at Kai, still with the grin on her face,

“I can really recommend the dessert, Mr Hiwatari; see you tonight,” is all she says, and with that she leaves without saying anything else.

Kai just remains in his position, still smirking, ‘This one I am going to enjoy tonight,’ this being his only thoughts on Michelle Dubois.

Kai does not date, at all. He does not take a woman on a movie date or on a dinner date, except for the business meetings that he gets invited to, but never on his own accord, and he does not dance with a woman at a restaurant, even if they are the ones that are asking. Kai has many flings, keeping them around for only physical reasons, and he is always in the mood for good sex, but he is very superficial in that department.

Kai likes everything about sex, although he is not a sex addict. He likes the feel of being inside a woman, their naked bodies rubbing against each other, the sounds and moans that come from the woman, and even the smell of sex is pleasant to him. He does not waste his time in finding a woman’s inner beauty; if she is not model material, he does not bother with her. He has never been in love, although there has been a certain blonde in the past that he has cared for very much, but other than that, all that Kai loves is himself, and his empire that he owns. Other than that, he could care less about feeling something for a woman. It is just a waste of time for him.

Women will always throw themselves at him; it has been like that his whole life. Heck, Kai was only 11 when he had lost his virginity, which is really a very young age, but he does not care. From then on he had enjoyed sleeping with women, but the older he got, the more selfish he became. He thinks of himself first, not caring whether the woman has reached her climax or not. If she does before he does, then good for her, but other than that he could care less. There are a few exceptions where he will go out of his way to please the woman, but only because he knows, that if she is pleased first, his pleasure would be a 100 times better, and Michelle Dubois is definitely going to be one that he is going to please first before getting his own.

Despite loving sex so much, Kai never ever goes without protection; he is not one of those idiotic and irresponsible men that believe flesh against flesh is more pleasurable. He goes for tests after each sexual partner, and his house doctor knows very well by now that whenever Kai calls him, it is mostly just for blood tests, and although he does not mind testing Kai’s blood, he would much rather prefer that the young man stay with one sexual partner for a very long time, and he has given this advice to Kai on numerous times, but all that Kai is interested in is being single, and being able to sleep with who he wants and when he wants to.

Kai has no intention of getting married anytime soon; children might be a possibility, but not now; he is still way too young to think of things like that. His best friend, Tala, had gotten married about five months ago, and so far he seems very happy. That whole romantic scene is not for Kai at all; he always feels like throwing up whenever he sees two people being affectionate with each other. Being a bachelor at his age is very natural in his country so luckily no one has bugged him in asking why he is still single, not like he would give anyone any reason for it being that way. He hates it when people want to find out about his private life, it just makes him feel like he can slaughter them all.

With a final thought on the possible fun that he might have with the gorgeous Ms Michelle Dubois tonight, Kai leaves the boardroom to go back to his office.

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Life in Moscow is going on as always. Everyone are on their own mission, just proving once again that time waits for no one, and just because people die, life does not stop from going on.

A month has already passed since the funeral of the three murdered Grekov family members. Anastasia is still broken over the loss, but at least she has started eating and sleeping again, but she has lost quite a few pounds in the last month. Her parents’ house has been cleaned, and she had been allowed back in about two weeks ago. She could not go in alone and had asked her closest cousin, Elena, to go with her. That was one of the hardest moments in her life, walking through the house, reliving all of the wonderful memories, knowing that she will never be able to hear their laughter or hear their voices ever again. She will never be able to talk to her mother about women stuff or tease her mother about her so-called grey hair; she will never be able to hear her father call her his precious, because her dad had loved his daughter very much; she will never be able to joke with Vladimir or make crude jokes with him, shocking him into a state of speechlessness. She will never be able to spend another minute with her family because they had been taken from her in a way that no one deserves to lose a loved one, or loved ones.

Anastasia has decided to make Vladimir’s penthouse her permanent residence and luckily for her, it was no hassle getting it registered in her name. Her parents’ will was read two days ago, and she has inherited everything, including what Vladimir would have inherited. There had been a clause in the will that had stated that should anything happen to either one of the siblings, the other one will automatically inherit that one’s inheritance; this does not make any difference to her. Vladimir also had a will drawn up and it had also stated that she has inherited everything, all of his assets and money in all existing accounts, local and abroad.

She had no idea that her family had been this wealthy; sure, they had enough money to live comfortably, but she had no idea that it went far into the millions. With her parents’ and brother’s wealth, she is now 90 million pounds, it being the strongest currency in the world; convert that to the Russian Ruble, it will be more or less be 7 billion, which makes Anastasia a very wealthy young lady. Where all the wealth had come from, she has no idea, but she is still grateful for what they had left her. All property and other assets of her family now belong to her.

Anastasia is still unsure of what to do with her family home; should she sell it or keep it, making it her second residence? The thing that she really is happy about, is receiving her brother’s beautiful bike, the Suzuki GSXR 750, 2007 model. She had always pestered Vladimir about letting her drive it, and he only complied with her request if he gets to join her; he had never allowed Anastasia to drive the bike on her own. The beautiful black and red bike was Vladimir’s pride and joy. While other lawyers and prosecutors like to drive around in fancy cars, Vladimir had preferred his bike. Anastasia has made a promise to herself that she will keep the bike in top and running condition for as long as she can, in memory of her beloved brother.

Anastasia is currently at a cafe with her two cousins, Elena and her brother, Dmitri. The two siblings are the only two people who have succeeded so far in letting Anastasia forget about her loss, and to let her just be her old self, the one they all love and that they have missed. Since the death of her family, Anastasia has not been the same anymore, which is to be expected after such a tragic loss.

“So, are you ladies in for tonight, drinks with a couple of good-looking guys?”

Both women roll their eyes at Dmitri, but with smiles on their faces, “Yeah, fine, whatever. If I plan on getting wasted, I might as well do it in the company of a few hotties.”

“That’s my girl,” Dmitri says while ruffling Anastasia’s hair in a playful manner, she just swatting his hand away, with a pretend scowl on her face.

Dmitri is the oldest among the three, being 26; Elena is 23, but they all get along perfectly well, Elena being considered Anastasia’s sister more than Dmitri’s sister, seeing as Anastasia and Elena has the same blonde hair, and their eyes are almost the same colour, the two almost looking like twins.

“Knock it off, old man,” Anastasia playfully shoves Dmitri away from her.

“Hey, who are you calling an old man?”

“You of course!”

“Ana, I am beyond hurt,” Dmitri says while placing a hand over his chest, pretending to be beyond shocked at the revelation his cousin had just made.

All three break out in laughter at Dmitri’s antics, but they are abruptly interrupted by the ringing of Anastasia’s phone, “H....hello?” Anastasia answers, trying her best to stifle her laughter.

“ _Ms Grekov?_ ”

“Speaking?”

“ _This is detective Yuri Pasternak, am I calling at a bad time?_ ”

“No, not at all; how can I help you, detective?”

The detective on the other end sighs a bit, causing Anastasia to become nervous.

“ _I am not sure whether it is good news or not, but we have caught the guy that is responsible for the murders of your parents and your brother. He has been arrested._ ”

Just hearing those words, Anastasia can feel how the blood drains from her face, her skin developing a sudden cold sweat; she really has no words right now to what the detective had just told her. Elena and Dmitri immediately see a change in Anastasia’s demeanour, Elena immediately placing a re-assuring hand on her cousin’s shoulder, just to try and comfort her about whatever she has just heard over the phone. 

“You...you had caught him?” Anastasia finally manages to ask, it still feeling very unreal to her at the moment.

“ _Yeah, but as always, they try to deny everything. All evidence points to him and no one else. His has already been denied bail, and his official hearing will be in about two weeks’ time. It seems it will only be the one court session seeing as the fellow colleagues of your brother are still very upset over the loss of Vladimir, and they are all determined to get him behind bars as quick as they can. They would have wanted him to get the death sentence but we all know that_ that _is out of the question. The idiot had demanded to be in a courtroom with lawyers to fight the case, but the evidence is just too incriminating, but he still has rights, so that is why it has been granted. If you feel up to it, you are allowed to be at the hearing, although you would not be questioned, well, at least not as far my knowledge goes on the matter._ ”

Anastasia remains in shock of all the detective has just told her, ‘They caught him, they had actually caught the bastard, but why am I not thrilled and relieved about this news the way I should be?’ Anastasia is brought out of her thoughts when the detective calls her a few times.

“ _Ms Grekov, are you still there?_ ”

“Yeah, yeah, I am still here, and I will be at the hearing, detective. I appreciate it a lot that you have informed me, detective. It sure is good news. Once again, thank you.”

“ _My pleasure, Ms Grekov; a good day to you.”_

“Likewise, detective,” Anastasia replies and then hangs up, while both Elena and Dmitri has concerned looks on their faces, the two siblings having their full attention on their cousin.

“They had caught him; they had caught the bastard that is responsible for my family’s death,” is all Anastasia manages to say, she just looking down at her cup.

“Are you serious? That is excellent news Ana!” Elena exclaims while embracing her cousin upon hearing the good news.

“Yeah, I guess. He has a hearing in two weeks’ time. Apparently my brother’s colleagues have pulled a few strings to allow him only one court appearance where all evidence against him will be presented, where he will hear the verdict, and also his sentencing if he is found guilty, but the detective said that the evidence is too incriminating; all evidence points to only him. I don’t even know the bastard’s name.”

“That’s excellent news, Ana, and I am happy to see that your brother’s colleagues are fighting for justice. Are you going to go to the hearing?”

“I want to, even if it is just to get closure; will you guys please come with me?”

“Of course, honey, you can always count on us, no matter what.”

Elena and Anastasia share another embrace, but this time Dmitri joins the two ladies. They soon pull away, and just remains seated in complete silence for a few seconds more.

“How are you feeling, you know, after receiving that news?”

“I am not entirely sure, Dmitri. To be honest, I don’t feel as relieved as much as I want to, I don’t know, but something still does not feel right about this whole thing, and I just can’t shake that feeling.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for starters, my brother only stayed over at our parents’ whenever I came to visit, other than that, he never slept over. However, the night that they were killed, he was sleeping in his old room. That has never, ever happened, and also the phone call that I had received a few days earlier from Vladimir. I could tell something was very wrong with the way he had talked; he has never talked to me like that. He told me that he loves me and that I should remain the beautiful person that I am. It almost sounded like he was saying good-bye, like he knew something like this was going to happen. I tried to reach him after that phone call, but I never could manage. My parents ensured me that Vladimir is doing well and that there is nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Maybe it was just pure co-incidence, and just remember, Ana, you had just gone through a very traumatic experience; it is bound to let you over think certain things and to see stuff that is not really there.”

“Maybe you are right; I guess I am just being paranoid. The important thing now is that they have caught the guy, and hopefully, soon enough he will rot behind bars for what he had done. The death sentence would have been more fitting, but I guess one cannot always get what one wishes for.”

“That’s the spirit!”

“Thanks again, you guys.”

“No sweat, my dear cousin. When Dmitri is near you never have to fear.”

“Please, that is so cliché.”

Dmitri just pouts at Elena, which causes the two young ladies to start giggling.

“Anyway, I think us women have a very important date with a few shops, seeing as we are so blessed of being graced with hunks tonight, all thanks to my lovely brother.”

“Amen to that, we have to find new outfits for tonight. And you are going to join us on our quest, Dmitri, no two stories.” “

“Kill me, kill me now!”

The women laugh at Dmitri once again. The three proceed to finish their coffees, and then leaves after paying the bill, heading to the shops with a protesting Dmitri following the two young ladies.

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_“Our first story for the day is about Hiwatari Enterprises, and the latest delivery that they have just made to the Russian Defence Force._

_80 brand new and specially designed fighter jets have just been handed over to the Russian Defence Force this morning, by the business mogul, Mr Hiwatari, himself. The deal had been finalised almost a year ago and Mr Hiwatari had assured the defence minister, Putin Ulov, that they will be the first of their kind in the world. So far no details have been shared with the public about the specifics of the fighter jets, but the defence minister has promised that the public will be treated to a demonstration once everything has been finalised. It is reported that the 80 jets are the first half of those that has been ordered for the Defence Force, and that the other half will be delivered within the next couple of months._

_Hiwatari Enterprises has already supplied the Russian Defence Force with numerous top of the art military equipment in the past, including tanks, military aeroplanes, fighter jets, various guns, and many more, all in the good of protecting our country against any possible terrorist attacks in the future. The Russian government has always had a good relationship with Hiwatari Enterprises since it has been established by the late Lord Voltaire Hiwatari, and that good relationship seems to keep growing stronger all thanks to his grandson, Mr Kai Hiwatari._

_Hiwatari Enterprises is the leading military manufacturing company in the world right now, and has already supplied various top of the art military equipment to various countries in order for them to ensure their country’s own safety._

_Mr Hiwatari is rumoured to be in talks with various countries in South America in the hopes of opening a few more manufacturing factories in their countries, and in this way, bringing employment to many of the people, giving them all a chance to earn a salary. However, nothing has been confirmed so far. This will not only be very profitable for Hiwatari Enterprises, but also for the countries that will agree to this agreement, seeing as money will be brought into their country, and thus, fighting poverty indirectly. We will keep you updated on the developments of that developing story; now onto our next story. It has been reported that....”_

The TV is silenced. A purple haired man in his early sixties is sitting behind a large antique office desk, just staring at the blank television screen.

‘So, the young brat is looking for business opportunities in the south? I am sure it is all just a front. I am sure that those factories will not only be for equipment, but also for drugs; a smart move, Hiwatari. If I didn’t despise you so much, I might have congratulated you, but alas, it will be a cold day in hell before I do something like that.’

Boris Balkov, Kai’s biggest enemy since Voltaire’s time. Boris had first disliked Voltaire, and then after the death of Voltaire, had passed his personal dislike and vendetta onto Voltaire’s grandson.

Boris Balkov is the head of The Checken Mafia, their main territory also being Russia, and they have been in competition with The Chernyy Feniks mob ever since Voltaire had started up with his organisation. Boris had taken over The Checken Mafia at a young age after his uncle and the founder of the Checken mafia, handed it over to him. The Checken mafia has been in existence much longer than The Chernyy Feniks mob, but for some reason Voltaire had succeeded in surpassing The Checken mafia, claiming the biggest territory. Voltaire had always managed to snatch away any possible deals from right under Boris’ nose, mocking Boris that he is a much better, and more successful and more feared mob boss than he will ever be.

This rivalry between the two men had reached its peak when Voltaire had sealed the deal with one of the biggest drug cartels in Colombia, a deal which still blossoms to this day with profits for both the cartel and The Chernyy Feniks mob, a deal which would have been The Checken Mafia’s deal, had Voltaire not intervened. That was when Boris could not take it anymore because that would have been his, and it would have assured himself and his mafia a respectful place and name in the organised crime world. He had lost his chance when Voltaire signed that deal. From then on, Boris had to settle to being a small-time mafia boss, never really succeeding in growing to the size of The Chernyy Feniks mob. Sure, many know about The Checken Mafia, but their recognition and popularity isn’t that of their biggest rival. The Chernyy Feniks mob is known all over Europe and Asia, something Boris has always craved, but never had managed to achieve.

Boris had been the one that had arranged that horrible car accident of Alec and Mila Hiwatari, and he had done it by hiring the services of another small town gangster organisation. He, of course, had remained anonymous during the whole planning, had paid the men enough money, and had also managed to clear all tracks that might have led back to him. Voltaire never even suspected him, much to Boris’s own amusement. Voltaire always used to boast of how he has the best of the best in all areas of illegal activities, but his goons failed to find the real culprit. Not very convincing work on The Chernyy Feinks’ side.

Boris had thought that the baby was also involved in the accident, but was shocked and very pissed when it was reported on the news that Voltaire’s only grandson has been orphaned at only ten months old. Boris had wanted them all dead; he did not want Voltaire to have an heir. He knew that if Voltaire had no heir, he would have been forced to leave everything to a non-related person, and then the mob would have surely suffered, and then it would have been his chance to take his rightful place in the crime world, but unfortunately the fates had different plans for him. Boris always knew that he would never get a chance to harm the young heir as Voltaire had ensured Kai’s safety, for just in case someone else tried to harm his new heir.

Although Boris will never admit it to anyone but himself, he is really impressed with how the young Hiwatari has taken his grandfather’s place. Kai has exceeded Voltaire’s statures with his own. The young man really is someone any corrupt parent can be proud of. If he didn’t despise the young man so much, they probably would have made strong allies, but his hatred is blinding him from achieving that, and Boris will hate the young Kai until he draws his last breath.

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“Apparently we are not the only ones who have pulled a few strings to get Tyson an unfair trail.”

“Good.”

“It seems that some of Grekov’s colleagues are royally pissed that he had murdered their friend, and they want to make life difficult for him. The hearing is tomorrow.”

“Be there.”

“Sure thing, but I just have one question, Kai: why Tyson? I know the guy is obnoxious and irritating, but why frame him for those people’s murders? Surely Tyson could not have been that irritating? He did have some good qualities, and he had brought in good business from the run down parts of the city.”

Kai does not answer the red head immediately; he just continues lounging comfortable in his leather office chair, legs on top of the table, crossed at the ankles with his arms behind his head, while staring out of the window.

“He was way too obnoxious for his own good, and his ego was also a major problem. The little bastard thought that he was the only one skilled enough to sell drugs to thugs. Besides, you know by now how it amuses me when making someone’s life a living hell before I finish them off completely, and I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to get rid of him. He would have been dead a long time ago, but now I am glad that I had postponed it a bit longer.”

“You really scare me sometimes, Kai.”

Kai just smirks at that comment, knowing well that it is the truth.

“Let him suffer in jail for a few days before you get someone to finish him off completely. I want him to die knowing that he was prosecuted for something that he never did, and that there is nothing or no one that can help him.”

Tala just looks at his friend, that sadistic look on Kai’s face, saying all that he needs to know.

“Fine, I’ll keep you updated of how everything goes. See you later.”

“Hn.”

Tala leaves, and Kai just continues looking out of the huge windows of his office, making himself even more comfortable in his chair.

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The day of the hearing has finally arrived. Anastasia is sitting on her bed, her new bed in her new penthouse, and she is currently looking down at a photo which she is holding in her hand, it being a photo of her along with her parents and her beloved brother.

‘Today I get to see the face of the monster that had taken you guys away from me. I wish I had it in me to kill him, but that is just not me, and besides, you, Vladimir, would never have allowed me to sink to that low level of a criminal. You always believed in doing the right thing, well, according to the law anyway. I just wish I can get a chance to talk to that murderer face to face, just to ask him why he took you guys away from me. Why did he have to kill you? I don’t even know the guy, but I hate him with every inch of my very being for taking you guys away from me. I will never forgive him for what he did to you guys, for what he did to me, never. He destroyed my life! Who does he think he is in killing innocent people, good people that didn’t even harm an insect?!’

Anastasia can feel how the anger and pain is starting to rise up within her once more.

‘I have to calm down. I can’t go to the court with these emotions; I might just end up doing something irresponsible. Calm down, Grekov, just breath, in and out,’ she thinks to herself, while taking a deep breath, holding it in for a few seconds before releasing it, repeating this a few times until she is sure that she has calmed down.

After being sure that she has composed herself, she places the photo on her dresser and starts to get ready for the hearing. Anastasia has agreed to meet her two cousins at the court.

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Everyone is seated in the courtroom. Anastasia is sitting way at the back of the courtroom, with Elena and Dmitri. There are quite a number of people present, but none that Anastasia recognises. She continues looking around and on the other side of the room, also in the last row of benches, she spots a red-haired man. She estimates him to be about her age, maybe even two or three years older than her. She cannot see his eyes as he is wearing sunglasses, a bit strange for a courtroom. He looks very comfortable as he has one leg dangling over the edge of the bench that is situated in front of him, with his arms crossed over his chest. He is not bad-looking at all, and Anastasia slightly wonders how he looks like without the sunglasses, and what colour his eyes are.

‘Get a grip woman, bloody hell! You are not here to check out a man, you are here to see the man that had killed your family,’ Anastasia thinks to herself, quickly turning her attention back to the front of the court room.

So far there is no sign of the murderer. The defending and prosecuting lawyers are all present, but no criminal.

Just then two officers comes walking into the room with a young man, handcuffed, and he is dressed a black suit. He has rather long hair, midnight blue, tied at the back of his head into a pony tail. He has brown eyes and a nice tanned skin. At first glance he does not look like a killer at all, but as the saying goes ‘never judge a book by its cover’. The young man takes his seat beside the defending lawyers, and he looks very anxious. Another police officer comes to stand right in front of the judge’s podium.

“All rise for your honourable, Judge Alec Zolnerowich.”

Everyone in the room stands up, all except the red head, Anastasia quickly taking notice of this. She immediately takes the guy as an arrogant and obnoxious guy, who has no respect for any type of authority. Luckily for the red head, no one else notices his lack of respect for the judge.

“You may be seated,” is all the judge says before taking his seat on his podium.

Everyone else takes their seats, the moment the judge is seated. Another police officer stands up to let everyone know about the case.

“The state versus Tyson Granger,” is all he says, the voice of the officer sounding strong, it echoing throughout the entire room.

“It says here that you are being accused of three murders, Mr Granger. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I am innocent, Your Honour.”

“Aren’t you all? I have reviewed all of the evidence against you, Mr Granger, and you are anything but innocent. I just want to know why?”

“I am innocent, Your Honour. I am being framed. I did not kill that family.”

“The evidence begs to differ. The knife that you had used to commit these horrendous murders were found in a bush three houses away from the Grekov residence, with your finger prints on the same knife that had been used on all three victims. Blood from one of the victims, Alisa Grekov, had been found on your jacket, along with some fibres that had matched the cloth that you had used to drug all three of the victims; now, tell me, how can you be innocent when all of the evidence points to you?”

“I am being framed, Your Honour, you have to believe me. Why would I kill them?”

“That is what I should be asking you, Mr Granger. How do you sleep at night, knowing that you have murdered three innocent family members, while they were sleeping, not even giving them a chance to defend themselves? Was it worth it?”

Tyson is on the verge of crying, his shaky voice a clear indication of it, “Please, Your Honour, you have to believe me, I have never been in that area; I did not kill them!”

“You will not raise your voice, young man, show some respect. You know what I hate the most, it is when you criminals have the audacity to pretend that you are all innocent and weak, and that just makes me sick to my stomach.”

“But, Your Honour.....”

“Enough! I have had enough of these lies. The evidence all points to you and I find it very difficult that someone would frame you. I hereby find you guilty of all charges. For Vladimir Grekov’s murder, I sentence you to life in prison; for Alisa Grekov’s murder, I sentence you to life in prison and for Ivan Grekov’s murder, I sentence you to life in prison. You, Mr Granger, will never see the outside world ever again. Court dismissed. Remove him from my sight.”

“I am innocent, please, I did not do it, please!”

Anastasia is not sure whether she should be jumping for joy or feel sorry for the poor guy. The judge really had no mercy for the guy, and it had to be the shortest, and strangest, court session that she has ever witnessed. She stole another quick glance to the red head and was kind of surprised to see him having a very self-satisfied smirk on his face. He just stood up without looking at Tyson again, and with his hands in the pockets of his stylish white trench coat, he casually strolled out of the courtroom. Tyson is struggling in the hold of the two police officers that are currently taking him away. Elena embraces Anastasia, as she looks at Tyson while he is being taken away.

“He will pay for what he did,” Elena says while releasing Anastasia.

All Anastasia can do is just smile at her cousin. This whole thing just feels too strange for her, something is just not right. Even the hearing had seemed very strange to her, because usually there were a few hearings over a course of time, it all depending the type of case, and usually witnesses are asked to testify if needed, but here it has been very different; there was not even a jury present.

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat, my treat.”

“Sure.”

The three cousins leaves the courtroom, but still Anastasia cannot not shake the unsettling feeling of how strange everything had just been, but decides to not mention anything to her cousins; they will simply not understand.

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In no time it is a brand new day. Anastasia is currently sitting at the kitchen counter with her coffee in one hand, and slowly reading through the newspaper. There is nothing new, just the usual news, except that there is an article featuring the court session of the previous day. Anastasia thinks back to it all, and just how strange it had been. She was not even called to testify or anything; not even the media had bothered to ask her questions. She has watched more than enough crime shows to know that _that_ is not the way things work. Heck, even when she was still living in Moscow, and Vladimir had been busy with his studies, she never ever heard him mention anything about a court case being that way. There are always numerous sessions, witnesses, various evidence displays, and even jurors, but not with this one; one session, just one session, is all it had taken, and just like that, it was over. Anastasia still cannot shake the feeling that something is very wrong with this whole situation. She knows that she should feel relieved about it all, that the man who took her family from her will never be free again, but why does she not feel like it? Why does she feel that the man did tell the truth, and that he really had been framed? Anastasia just snorts to herself.

“Who would want to frame him by murdering my family?” she asks herself.

Anastasia looks down at the photo of Tyson that is placed in the newspaper. He really does not look like a killer, and how he had acted in the court, he really did seem innocent.

“That’s it. There is only one way to find answers, and that is to go and visit him myself. Maybe then I will be able get the answers that I am looking for.”

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Tyson has just finished his first horrible breakfast in prison, and despite him always having a healthy appetite, he did not have one this morning, because that too had been taken away from him, along with his freedom. The young man still cannot believe how he had ended up in this horrible nightmare of a situation. One moment he was doing errands for his grandpa, and the next thing, he was handcuffed and arrested for not only one, but three murders, and that of people that he has never even heard of before.

He has never done anything bad in his life, okay, correction; he has never killed anyone in cold blood. He can barely kill a spider, never mind another human being. Sure, he is, or was, involved in The Chernyy Feniks mob, but he never did the killing or the torturing part. He just sold drugs to the low class people, the heavy drug addicts, because the other members of the mob thought it as beneath them to even breathe the same air as those people, despite them being criminals themselves. He may have robbed a few people, but he had never killed anyone. In his three years in the mob, not once did he think of asking Tala or Kai whether he can start torturing or killing people. He was happy with just selling the drugs.

Tyson is currently on his way back to his cell after his breakfast, when a guard calls him and tells him that he has a visitor. Tyson follows the guard to the visiting area and is shocked, and also very relieved, when he sees his red-haired boss waiting for him. Tyson immediately feels much better upon seeing his boss. Tyson sits down and takes the phone in his hand.

“Tala, man, am I glad to see you.”

Tala just smirks at the young man, “How are you, Tyson?”

Tala can see that Tyson is on the brink of bursting into tears, and just the sight of that brings a sickening feeling of absolute pleasure to him.

“You have to help me, Tala, I am begging you. I will even go on my knees if I have to. I have been framed, and I do not know by who; please, help me prove my innocence, please, man.”

Tala just continues to smirk at the young man, “Who would want to frame you, Tyson?”

“I don’t know, man, but please help me. I really do not want to stay locked away for the rest of my life for something I did not do.”

“The evidence all points to you, and who can argue with evidence, Tyson?”

“Tala, that evidence is false, you have to believe me; I have never murdered anyone.”

“I believe you, but there is nothing I can do, Tyson.”

“You have connections. What about Kai? Everyone fears him; can’t you talk to him, please?”

“Somehow I doubt that he will help.”

“But why, we don’t have bad blood between us.”

Tala just sighs, and then starts to chuckle, “Tyson, Tyson, Tyson, you poor thing,” is all Tala says while shaking his head from side to side while grinning, “ I almost feel sorry for you, as in almost. Kai will not help you, well, because, he is the one that has put you in here.”

“What?” Tyson’s breath suddenly gets caught in his throat, “But.....why?”

“You just annoyed him, that’s all.”

“He killed those three family members, didn’t he?”

Tala’s smirk does not falter, but he says nothing. Tyson can feel the anger build up inside of him.

“You bastards! You will not get away with this!” he screams while getting to his feet, pushing the chair back with a great force, it skidding over the floor; Tala just signals to the guards that everything is fine.

“Oh, but we already have, that is why you are locked up in here.”

“I will tell everyone that he was the one that had killed them.”

“Do it, I dare you, but just remember one thing, Tyson, no one will believe you, oh, and another thing, if you dare say anything to anyone, I will make sure that your grandfather dies a very horrible, painful and slow death.”

Tyson immediately goes pale upon hearing that threat.

“Don’t think I won’t do it. I am after all best friends with Kai, and as you can guess, that brutality of Kai has rubbed off on me. I have killed many before and one more will make no difference to me, so be warned. If you want your precious ‘grandpa’ to live until a very old age, you will keep your mouth shut, understood?”

Tyson can only nod his head slowly in defeat.

“Good; then I am glad that we understand each other. This will be the last time we see each other, Tyson, but I will make sure to send your regards to Kai.”

Tala stands up and just walks away, leaving Tyson nauseous and weak.

He is paying for something that he did not do, and that all because of someone who had found him annoying. No one will believe him if he says that Kai Hiwatari was the one that had murdered the Grekov family. Everyone fears Kai, and he has way too many law enforcers on his side. He might as well have been the president of Russia, because Kai has more power and influence in this country than the president has.

Tyson hangs his head low in defeat, while slowly starting to follow the guard back to his cell, the small impersonal cell where he is going to be spending the rest of his life, and that for a crime that he did not commit.

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15 minutes has already passed since Anastasia had stopped at the prison where Tyson is now serving his sentence. It is almost two ‘o clock the afternoon. She has been sitting in the car the whole time, battling with herself on whether she should talk to the guy that has been found guilty for her family’s murder, or not. Will she even get the answers to her questions or not?

‘Get a grip woman; just do it already. It is not that bad, just get out, walk in and get this over with. Afterwards, you can go race in the streets as a reward for yourself,’ smiling to herself at the thought of rewarding herself, Anastasia finally gets out, and finally goes in, and soon enough, she makes her to the visitors’ area.

A few minutes of waiting have already went by, when the man that she has come to see, finally arrives. The guy is not that bad looking, but he looks like he is carrying the whole world’s problems on his shoulders.

If only Anastasia knew.

Tyson sits down and they both take the telephones in their hands, “Do I know you?” is all he asks, his voice sounding very dull.

“No, but I know you.”

“Good for you,” Tyson replies, he suddenly sounding very cocky, it not amusing Anastasia in the least.

“So, you are not only a murderer, but also an arrogant little prick.”

“Excuse me?!” Tyson exclaims, not believing that this unknown woman is insulting him like this.

Both can feel their tempers rising, Tyson, because this unknown has just called him a murderer and an arrogant prick, and Anastasia, because he is rude, and that after he had taken her family away from her.

“Wasn’t it enough for you to murder my family, now you also want to be rude, what kind of person are you?”

Tyson’s facial expression quickly changes from being annoyed to completely shocked, “Family, the Grekov family?”

“Yeah, the three that you had murdered in cold blood.”

“Look, I didn’t kill them, you have to believe me.”

“The evidence argues against that.”

Tyson looks around to see whether someone is listening to them, but luckily sees that the guards are all occupied with something else. Tyson lowers his voice so that Anastasia is barely able to hear him through the phone, “Look, I know who did it. I was framed. This morning I got a visit from an old friend, ex-friend to be more precise, and he confessed everything to me.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“You don’t have to, but just trust me.”

“Fine, whatever; so, who did it?”

Tyson glances around once more, before speaking again, “Kai Hiwatari,” is all he says, hoping that the blonde may have heard of the business mogul before.

“Are you high?” Anastasia asks in utter disbelief, her face mirroring her exact emotions right now.

“You don’t have to believe me, lady, but I am telling you the truth.”

“Why would a business man want to kill my family in cold blood?”

“You have no idea who Kai really is. He is the worst of the worst. Look, I can talk for hours on what he does and what he really is, but there is not enough time, and this is also not the most ideal place. He killed your family, not me. I don’t know why, but his right hand man and best friend, Tala, had confessed everything to me this morning, and that red headed asshole even found it all very amusing that I was begging for his help.”

“Red head?”

Anastasia then remembers the red head that she saw the previous day at the hearing of Tyson.

“Yeah, Tala Ivanov. Do you know him?”

“No, but yesterday at your hearing I saw a red haired man, and although I must admit it was weird, he looked very pleased with himself when the judge said that you are guilty.”

“Bastard. It was probably because he felt satisfied knowing that an innocent person is being sent to jail for his friend’s dirty work. You have to believe me, I never caused anyone harm. I may not be a saint, but I am no murderer.”

“Let’s say, hypothetically, I believe you, why would a man like that Kai guy want to frame you? Did you piss him off or what?”

“I don’t really know; Tala just told me that the reason Kai had done this to me was because he had found me annoying. I worked for the guy for a few years in his mob, but I really can’t recall any day that I did something bad to him.”

“Mob?”

“The Chernyy Feniks mob, and if I can give you some free advice, lady, stay far away from them; there is no one more brutal then them, Kai being the worst.”

“Dude, if you know all this stuff, why don’t you just tell the police.”

Tyson starts to laugh, but it is a sarcastic laugh, “What good is that going to do me? Everyone is scared shitless of Hiwatari. No one has taken him on and has survived; they all had just mysteriously disappeared or had died in weird accidents. No one is dumb enough to take him on, nor take on his friend Tala. I didn’t kill your family, I promise you on my deceased parents’ lives. You have to believe me.”

“I am just finding it all so hard to believe that a man like that would bother to waste his time to kill three people that are not that interesting. Is there no one that you can inform about of who had really killed my family?”

“No, and even if I did, Tala had threatened me, saying that if I dare say anything to anyone, he will make my grandfather’s death a very painful one. The only reason I told you this is because you have the right to know seeing as it was your family.”

Anastasia does not know what to say to all of this. Tyson looks sincere, despite him being a complete ass in the beginning, but now he really seems like a genuine nice guy. It just doesn’t make any sense to her on why someone like Kai Hiwatari would want to murder her family, and then frame someone else. Unless....

“You said that anyone who had tried to take on Kai in the past didn’t survive; does that include lawyers, prosecutors and judges?”

“Of course, anyone, whether they are ministers or respectable judges, no one makes it.”

“My brother is a prosecuting lawyer and before he was murdered, I had visited him at his office, and I saw a file of that Kai on his desk. Do you think that maybe that might have been the reason for him killing my brother?”

“Probably, like I said, no one takes on Kai and lives to tell the tale.”

“But why kill my parents?”

“Kai doesn’t just go after one person, he likes to take out a whole family, he doesn’t like loose ends, and in his eyes, living family members are loose ends, but how come you are alive?”

“I was in America at the time of the murders; I guess he probably didn’t know about me.”

“For what it’s worth, I am really sorry for your loss, I truly am. I know how it feels losing your family. My grandfather is my only living family member after my parents and older brother had died in a car accident about six years ago.”

“Thanks, Tyson, and I am also sorry to hear about your loss.”

“Thanks. Hey, I didn’t even get your name.”

“It’s Anastasia.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Anastasia.”

“Likewise, Tyson; you really don’t seem like a killer.”

“It’s because I am not one.”

“I realise that now. What am I going to do regarding Kai? I can’t just leave it like this.”

“Please, I am asking you, no, I am begging you, do not do anything. Just forget it, and go on with your life, Anastasia. Pretend that the killer is behind bars, well technically he is, but just pretend that, okay? Going after Kai is suicide. You will not even have half a chance to confront him before his goons kill you, and also don’t start asking questions. The mob has eyes and ears everywhere, especially if it concerns their precious boss,” Tyson spitting the word ‘boss’ with true disgust, “I only told you so that you know who the real killer is, not for you to and go and take him on. I hardly know you, but I would not appreciate it if you die by his hands.”

“Thanks, Tyson, and I promise I will not confront Kai in my weak state. I am sure if things were different, we could have been good friends.”

“I would have liked that.”

“You know what, screw it; from now on, we are friends.”

“I like the sound of that, that is, if Tala doesn’t order my death here in prison, but I can really see us becoming good friends,” Tyson immediately starting to laugh at Anastasia’s shocked facial expression when he mentioned Tala ordering his death.

“I’m joking, so you can relax, friend,” Anastasia just smiling in return upon hearing Tyson call her friend.

Who would have thought that things would have turned out like this; she had come to see a murderer, and has ended up making a friend instead.

“Visiting time is over, Granger,” one of the guards announces abruptly.

“Fine; I have to go now and remember my advice, Anastasia, do not do anything, please.”

“I will follow your advice, Tyson, I promise. I will come visit you again, and that is also a promise, my friend,” Anastasia says with a genuine friendly smile.

Tyson returns her smile, and then gets up to go back to his cell. Anastasia continues to smile until Tyson is out of sight, and then her smile disappears quickly, being replaced with a scowl, her eyes turning darker, and suddenly the young blonde Grekov looks like she is ready to kill.

‘Kai Hiwatari is going to pay,’ is all Anastasia thinks to herself before getting up and finally leaving, getting into her car, and then racing away from the prison.


	3. Chapter 3

** Chapter 3 – tying up loose ends **

Russia is known for its cold and brutal winters. It is not for the faint of heart, and those that are used to living in a warm and sunny climate should rather avoid the Russian country during winters, because they will only do themselves harm. Russians are known as being a tough nation, and it is true. Anyone who can handle the Russian winter deserves to be called a tough person, a survivor. Let’s face it; it was the weather alone that had killed off the German army during the Second World War. Soldiers that had killed many, and that had survived many bombs and attacks, could not survive one season of the Russian winter. That alone is saying a lot about the Russian winter. The Siberian desert is what nightmares are made of, cold and icy nightmares. The icy desert has claimed many lives, and that without using any weapon or brute force. All it had used was its natural elements – ice and snow, below freezing point temperatures, combined it, and formed the most dangerous weapon, more dangerous than any man made weapon.

However, it is in this deadly icy desert where a very large military manufacturing company resides, its main factories actually. Luckily for the staff, the factory is equipped with a sufficient heating system. Hiwatari Enterprises has decided that it will be for the best if its main manufacturing factory is far away from civilisation, for health reasons, and also for those that might think it wise to try and break in or steal from the factory, not that many would dare to do it. It is a very huge manufacturing system; it has to be, seeing as it is the leading manufacturer in military equipment, receiving orders from all over the world.

Right now at the factory, an inspection is taking place. Kai has informed his employees that he will pay them a visit in a week’s time, along with the president of Bulgaria, and that all the manufacturing of the illegal firearms and bombs should be taken care of. The guns that the mob distributes and sells are also manufactured here, although in a separate section of the factory.

Seeing as the president is coming to watch the factory and how everything is produced, Kai does not want him to know of his manufacturing of illegal weaponry. Kai is not interested in his mob doing business with Bulgaria, and would much rather prefer it if they do not know about his manufacturing of illegal ammunition. Only if he decides otherwise, will he show that section of the factory to the man. Right now that section has to be closed off, and made to look as if it is only a storage section. It is all routine by now; it has happened quite a few times in the past before about the section being closed off on certain times. Kai will never deny business for Hiwatari Enterprises, and if his clients want to see the main factory, he cannot refuse them. However, if a visit is not with someone doing business with the mob, he does not show them the whole operation; only what he feels like they should see.

Ray Kon is overseeing everything of covering up all of the ammunition. He is in charge of all the ammunition distribution, and also oversees all of the sales. When someone wants to buy guns or bombs, Ray is the one to contact. Kai had appointed him to this position personally, seeing as the two have known each other since their teens. All the people in charge of certain operations in the mob, are people that Kai has appointed himself because he knows them all for a good amount of time now, and he knows what they are all capable of, and they are all just thrilled to be a part of The Chernyy Feniks mob, seeing as they have more than enough money, and they all have power and authority which gives them a lot of control over many things. Kai trusts them all fully to keep things running smoothly in their allocated positions, and so far, no one has disappointed him, not that anyone would dare do it anyway.

Ray is originally from a very secluded small village in the mountains of China, but he got tired of his village and how things were still so primitive, how reclusive the villagers were, and so decided to run away, and came to Moscow when he was only 16. He and Kai had met one night while both of them were taking part in an underground fight. It was a draw between the two, a first for Kai, and that is when Ray had earned Kai’s respect, a very difficult thing to receive from the young Hiwatari. They became friends afterwards, and had remained friends from then on. Kai had talked to his grandfather in order to give Ray a place to stay, and in order for payback, Ray can work in the mob as an errand boy or something. For about 17 months, Ray had been an errand boy, but after showing his fighting skills to Voltaire one night, he was promoted and started to become more involved within the mob, learning of how everything works and how everything is run.

Right after Kai took over, he had moved the Chinese man to the head of all ammunition, but that was not all; Ray had also been placed in charge of the Ukraine and Siberia territory, and the young Chinese man travels frequently to Ukraine, staying there for a few months at a time. Ray is also in charge of all motor theft within Russia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic; he is also Tala’s right hand man, and whenever Tala is not available to handle the minor stuff, Ray takes over from the red haired man.

Ray is not as brutal as Kai and Tala, although he will not flinch when it comes to killing someone; he just doesn’t act so cold towards it like the others. His warm and friendly attitude invites in anyone, and it is hard to imagine him being high up within The Chernyy Feniks mob. Ray is not married and just like Kai, he also enjoys the company of various women at various times, although not as much as Kai does. Ray also owns a very elite club in the depths of Moscow and not everyone is welcome there; only friends and allies of The Chernyy Fenniks mob may enter, and it can be classified as a club with various activities. Sometimes it is a strip club, other times it is just a gentlemen’s club, but, no matter what it is used for on which nights, it is always prosperous, despite it only being in operation for about 10 months now. Kai is a regular at the club whenever he is not away on business for either the company or the mob.

Right now Ray is standing on a platform with a clipboard in hand, overseeing the merchandise that needs to be hidden. The young Chinese man is anxious to finish it up, because he has got a hot date for the night, and he really does not want to miss out on it, but he knows Kai all too well. If the job does not get finished, the Russian born man will really not be happy, and a pissed off Kai is worse than a hungry lion fighting for food. Luckily there is still time to finish up, but he still has a very long drive back to the city.

One of Ray’s men comes to stand next to him, a very short guy with an abnormally large nose, purple hair and red eyes, and he just came to gossip a little to his boss, “Have you heard about Tyson, boss?”

“About the family that he had whacked?”

The short guy nods, grinning like a maniac, “He got life for each murder, so he will be away for a very, very long time.”

Ray does not miss the undeniable happy tone in which Ian speaks of Tyson being away for a long time, it just amusing to the Chinese man of how one’s misery and unfortunate luck can bring so much happiness to another person, “Why are you so happy about it, Ian?”

“Because I had hated that obnoxious ass with a passion, and I still do. Aaah, just think, I never have to see him ever again. I never have to share food with him, I never have to share my profits, errands, nothing. I tell you, Ray, my luck in this business is finally changing for the better.”

Ray just chuckles at Ian, knowing very well that it is true.

Ian has been working for Ray for about two years now. He had started right after Tyson had started. Tyson and Ian had not hit it off very well from the beginning because Tyson had thought that because he had already been in The Chernyy Feniks a year longer than Ian, and because he was much taller than Ian, he could boss the short guy around, but he was sadly mistaken when Ian gave him a beating of his life, but that was not all. Kai had decided that the two of them should work together in the same territory, selling the drugs to the washed up population of Moscow. For Kai it was a personal sick joke, but that was only for his own knowledge.

Because Ian and Tyson had to work together, Tyson would usually steal all of Ian’s customers, and go and boast to the others of how he had outsmarted the short guy. Ian was constantly bullied by Tyson, and also by the others, because many just could not take him seriously because of his height. Tyson and Ian had only managed to make peace about two months before the murders of the Grekov family, but secretly Ian still despised Tyson because he just could not forget all of the bad things that Tyson had done to him in the past.

Naturally, when the short man had heard about Tyson’s arrest, he threw a little party; he even went as far as giving out cocaine for free, or at least at his own cost anyway. Kai will skin him alive with acid if he should ever dare give away Kai’s drugs for free. Ian really did not mind paying for the drugs with his own money; just shows how ecstatic he really was with Tyson’s arrest.

“I am happy for you, Ian, now get back to work.”

“Yes, sir,” Ian says while jokingly saluting Ray.

Ray has heard of the unfortunate luck of his friend Tyson, and he is actually very sad that something like this had to happen to Tyson. Ray also finds it very strange that Tyson would murder a family of three; it just does not seem like the free -spirited man, but he also knows that he cannot voice his opinions to just anyone. Ray is almost certain that Kai is somehow involved in the somewhat sad and unfortunate tragedy, and he would much rather just remain quiet about the whole affair; Ray has way too much respect for his friend/boss, even more than he has for Tyson.

Ray likes most of the people working for him; actually, he cannot really think of anyone that he despises, because it is just not the type of person that he is; in fact, the only enemies he has are those of The Chernyy Feniks, because the mob is his life, his family, and no one must dare take on his family, because he will make sure they will feel his full wrath; any enemy of The Chernny Feniks is an enemy of him.

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It is night time in Moscow, and Anastasia is currently sitting in front of her laptop, reading up on various articles about Kai Hiwatari. Dmitri had asked her earlier during the day on whether she wants to join him and his sister, but Anastasia had kindly declined the offer, feigning the excuse that she is tired, and that she is going to bed early, which is not the truth at all.

It has only been a few hours since she has found a new friend in the oddest of places, and now she cannot wait to go and visit Tyson tomorrow. Despite his current situation, he still has a friendly and calm aura around him, one that Anastasia finds very pleasant and inviting. She really does believe him that he did not kill her family, hence why she is currently reading up on Kai Hiwatari.

Right after she had left the prison earlier, she had decided that she is going to read up on the man that has murdered her family. Under normal circumstances Anastasia would have drooled by just looking at his pictures, but this is not normal circumstances. So far she has read about the unfortunate death of his parents when he was just a baby; she really wants to feel sorry for him, but she just cannot manage any form of compassion towards the business man.

There is not really that much information on Kai’s personal life, only a few articles about him inheriting the company, and other business articles about his various accomplishments within the business world. No one can deny the fact that the man really does know what he does, and that he is good at what he does.

There are also a few articles about a few journalists speculating about Hiwatari’s involvement within the crime world, but as stated in the articles, no substantial proof has been presented yet. When Anastasia had read these specific articles, she thought back to Tyson’s words, of how Kai gets rid of anyone that dares to investigate him. No matter how hard she tries, she just cannot seem to ignore the facts that although he has killed her family, Kai really is a very good looking man, a very handsome man with his strong, yet cold features; a devilish handsome man. Anastasia starts to wonder what his voice sounds like, is it deep and masculine, or is it sounding like a high pitched voice, almost like that of a very gay man.

A smirk creeps onto Anastasia’s features as a thought comes to mind, one where she imagines this handsome man with the voice of a girl, ‘That would be quite some sight,’ she chuckles to herself.

There are however, as she has discovered so far, no articles about Kai being in a relationship with anyone. There are also no photos of him having any female by his side whenever he is photographed at some important event. 

‘Maybe he is gay,’ is all Anastasia can think of that may be the reason for the lack of females by his side.

Any normal woman would want to spend some time with such a gorgeous man, even she who is Anastasia would have wanted to, but not with Kai specifically, any good looking man will do. She once again looks at the images of Hiwatari, also wondering what he is like, what kind of person he really is.

‘He must be a cold hearted, obnoxious and arrogant bastard, seeing as he has murdered my family along with many other innocent people. Bastard,’ and just like that, all of the hate, anger and rage flares up within the young Grekov once more.

She decides to look up on the gang that he supposedly is the head of. Anastasia types in ‘TheChernyy Feniks Mob’, and what appears shocks her beyond any comprehension.

The Chernyy Feniks Mob is involved in everything, from murder to drug and human trafficking, and they do not only have territory in Russia alone, but it extends to Ukraine, Hungary, France and even as far as Netherland, including other countries. The supposed allies of The Chenyy Feniks mob include the Russian government, the Chinese triads, cartels from Colombia and also a few other dangerous gangs. There is no mention of who the head is, but there are speculation about Hiwatari, but just like the other articles has already stated, there is no proof to these claims. The authority has failed in capturing the head of the mob, and despite having placed various officers undercover in order to penetrate the organisation, none of them have succeeded so far in finding the person who is behind it all.

Unfortunately, all those that were undercover within the mob, have all died mysteriously, all dying in various accidents. Again Anastasia thinks back to what Tyson had said earlier of how the mob gets rids of certain people. This makes the mob very smart, seeing as the police will know that they are responsible for the deaths of their undercover cops, but that they cannot prove anything, which leaves the mob to get away with many murders of innocent people.

Anastasia starts to feel somewhat nauseous with the idea that she is living in the same city as these types of people, these people that kill for money, and that hurts so many innocent lives, not once thinking about the damage that they are causing. She will ask Tyson some more on the mob when she goes and visits him tomorrow.

Anastasia continues to spend the rest of the night reading up on Hiwatari Enterprises, along with its CEO, and before she knows it she falls asleep right in front of the computer, sleeping peacefully without any sign of a grief ridden family member.

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While Anastasia is sleeping like a baby, in another part of the city, it is a completely different scenario. In a secluded warehouse are two men currently standing, conversing, and neither of them is in a friendly mood. Tala is currently at one of the safe and secure warehouses of Hiwatari Enterprises, interrogating one of the workers of The Chernyy Feniiks. The red head Russian, along with a black haired man that goes by the name Diego, is standing between various high stacks of boxed containers, the containers all containing various types of guns that will be shipped off to their various destinations within the next couple of days.

“Tala man, look, it was not me; you know me, I will never steal from the organisation. It is my home, my family.”

Tala is standing right in front the man, his arms crossed over his chest, looking very unimpressed with Diego, “Your name was the only one that had been mentioned, why is that, if it was not you?”

“I don’t know, maybe it was another Diego. Please, Tala, I beg you, don’t say anything to Kai. I am sure we can work something out between the two us. Come on, what do you say? We are buddies, you and I.”

Tala just sighs, closing his eyes for a few seconds before opening them once more and looking at Diego with a very bored look on his face, “I am really having a difficult time in believing you, Diego, and no, we are not buddies. Who else would dare to steal 20 lb of cocaine that belongs to the Chernyy Feniks? No one is that stupid.”

“Exactly, Tala, and I am not stupid. There has to be a mistake.”

“Diego, I am going to give you one more chance to come clean and to tell me where you had hid that cocaine, otherwise I have no choice but to go and tell Kai.”

“Tala, please, you have to believe me.”

Tala just raises an eyebrow and then proceeds to remove his phone from his one jean pocket. Diego suddenly pales upon seeing the phone, thinking that Tala is about to call Kai, but little does he know that Kai is quietly standing right behind him with a katana in his hand, ready to kill the man in front of him. Tala starts to play a recording, and it is Diego’s voice that clearly can be heard in the recording, along with someone else.

_“Diego, just put it back; it is not worth it.”_

_Diego snorts with a very sarcastic reply, “Not worth it?! Are you high? Of course it is worth it; these few pounds of coke are enough to last me for a very long time. And anyway, Kai and Tala think they are so smart but guess what, they aren’t because I took 20 lb from the stash three days ago, and they still have not noticed a thing; what a bunch of dumb asses.”_

_“What are you going to do with it?”_

_“What do you think? Take some of it for myself, and the rest I am going to cut, but still sell it at the price that The Chernyy Feniks sells it for, the only difference being that it would be shit that I will be selling to the clients, and I also get to ruin the name of The Chernyy Feniks a little, making some believe that the quality has died down and hopefully the word would spread that the mob no longer sells quality.”_

_“Why are you doing this?”_

_“Because I want to get in with Boris and his crew, and I need to prove myself.”_

_“This won’t work.”_

_“Blah blah blah, it already has.”_

Tala stops the recording, and Diego suddenly looks like he is going to be sick, “The guy that you were talking to, Elliot, he is still loyal to us and he was just playing you, Diego.”

“That’s not me, Tala, I promise you. I would never do such a thing as steal from the mob, much less boast about my accomplishment or say those bad things; I respect The Chernyy Feniks too much.”

Tala starts the recording once more, but this time he turns his phone’s screen towards Diego so that he can see it, and there, as clear as day, stands Diego along with the man named Elliot.

“Still not you?”

Diego is all of a sudden at a complete loss for words, and it is just then when Kai decides to intervene. Diego continues looking at Tala with a flabbergasted look upon his face, when he suddenly feels something very sharp move right through his stomach. He looks down and sees the bloody katana sticking out from his stomach, and just like that, he loses the use of his legs, causing him to fall face first onto the cold concrete floor.

Kai has just severed Diego’s spinal cord, cutting off the main nerve supply that runs to his legs, leaving the man completely paralysed in the lower part of his body. Diego quickly turns around onto his back, and gasps when he looks up straight into the cold eyes of his boss, Kai.

“No one steals from my mob, and gets away with it,” Kai’s deep masculine voice sounding very dangerous at that moment.

Tala just looks on as Diego lays there in his own blood, trying to get away from Kai.

“Kai, please, I beg you, have mercy on me. I will never do something like that ever again. I will return the coke immediately, just please, please don’t kill me.”

Kai continues to look down at the man with no expression on his face. He takes his katana and presses it into Diego’s upper right thigh, but the man feels nothing, and this is very amusing to Kai.

“So, you feel nothing; excellent.”

“Kai, what....”

Diego does not even get a chance to finish his question, because just then he has to start watching in horror at how Kai cuts right through his right leg, removing the limb completely. The poor man starts to scream, but not out of pain, but out of pure horror. Kai just smirks at the severed leg before facing Tala, holding out his free hand towards Tala.

“Gun,” is all he says to Tala.

“Kai, please, I beg you, please, I don’t want to die.”

Neither Tala nor Kai says a word, and Tala just yawns when Kai fires five bullets into the head of Diego, making sure that the man is dead and unrecognisable. Kai even goes as far as to rub the blood off of his katana onto the shirt of Diego. Tala is already busy making a call to the Feniks manor for a few of the guys to come and clean up the mess at the warehouse.

“I have already located the cocaine that he took. Elliot is bringing it in tomorrow. I am also going to increase security with our drugs, and I am informing the others to do it as well.”

“Good. I do not want a repeat of this. It would have been more than a million dollars that we would have lost because of this idiot, and I would hate to see another idiot get away with it.”

Kai looks down at the bloody body with a look of pure disgust on his face, “He nearly made a fool of The Chernyy Feniks, and that is unforgivable.”

“I agree, but anyway, I have to go. I have to drop off the poison that must be placed into Granger’s breakfast tomorrow, and by tomorrow night all loose ends connecting to the Grekov affair would have been dealt with.”

Kai just gives a nod as a sign of agreement, and without saying anything else, he leaves the warehouse, heading straight for the Hiwatari manor to go and get a good night’s rest, seeing as he has had a very busy day, meetings back to back, and he is very exhausted.

Tala waits for the men to come and collect the body of Diego, and then also leaves on his various routes, before finally heading home to his lovely and very crazy wife, Alisia.

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So far the morning has not turned out as Anastasia had wanted it to, but what can one do? Her aunt has forced her to join both her and Elena on a brunch appointment, and then on a trip to the beauty salon afterwards. Anastasia had declined, but her aunt had insisted, even Elena had said that it would be no use because she, who is Anastasia, will just lose the fight, and that is why, right now, Anastasia is sitting in a fancy restaurant eating brunch along with her cousin and her aunt.

This is not what the young woman had planned for the morning. Her plans were to go and get some food that she can take for Tyson, which she would have seen by now, were it not for her aunt and cousin, and by the looks and sounds of it, she will only get to see her new friend somewhere in the afternoon.

It is not that Anastasia does not appreciate what her family is doing for her, it is just that they want to be there for her 24/7, and in her opinion, it is just suffocating her. Anastasia is not use to be constantly monitored by people, not even her own family had done that when they were still alive. They had left her to do her own thing, something the rest of the family does not understand, and probably will never understand.

The brunch had gone by much too slow for Anastasia’s liking, and the trip to the beauty salon had been even longer. Her aunt had booked the three of them for a full body massage, full facial, and both manicures and pedicures. By the time they were finally done, it was almost three in the afternoon, the day almost being over.

“Aunt M, Elena, thank you guys so much for this wonderful day, but I have to be rude and end it.”

“But why, child, we still have so much to do.”

“I have to take a reign check on those remaining plans, Aunt M, because I really have some place very important that I have to be, or that I already should have been at, but I will call you guys, okay?”

“Sure, honey, no worries.”

The three women say their goodbyes, Anastasia taking a cab back to her penthouse to get her car, and then to rush to the prison so that she can go and see Tyson.

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Kai is standing in front of a huge window in his office, overlooking the city, all while taking a well deserved smoke break. He again almost had a full day of meetings, but now he can just relax because it is all over, for now anyway. He has to leave for Japan next week, for both Hiwatari Enterprises business, and also for The Chernny Feniks mob. He does not have a problem with leaving for business trips; the only sad thing is that he has to leave behind his two beloved cats, Tiger and Iris. He would much rather prefer them to stay home where it is safe for them, as to take them on a journey where something might happen to them. Kai is overall heartless, but when it comes to his cats, his heart just melts.

Kai takes another drag from his cigarette as he continues to watch the view. It always brings a type of calmness over him, a calmness that he enjoys, where he forgets who and what he is, forgetting all that he has done, and what he still needs to do, and where he does not have to worry about anything, but moments like these happen so rare as he is constantly busy, and these moments only last as long as his smoke break lasts, because the moment he has finished his cigarette, he has to return back to his world, the world of Kai Hiwatari, a dangerous and dark world for many, but not for him. 

Kai does not see himself in another type of life, because this is who he is, this is what he likes: the power, and the large amount of it. In the business world he has already conquered so much, but he is far from being done, as he still has quite a few plans lined up for the future. With the mob, he has proved to so many people that he is not just a young, power hungry arrogant man that plays gangster; he is a real mob boss, as real and as cruel as they come, and he will continue dominating the world of organised crime.

Kai plans to leave behind a legacy the day he dies; he wants the world to remember him for years to come after his death. Everyone will remember the Hiwatari name, just as his grandfather had dreamt about his entire life. Kai will gladly continue holding the Hiwatari name high, it is just very unfortunate that his grandfather had to die in order for it to happen, but it is for the greater good after all, apparently anyway.

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Anastasia has just arrived at the prison a couple of minutes ago, and right now she is waiting in the waiting room, as one of the officers had left to go and get Tyson. Anastasia has brought him some takeout food, and she is sure that he will enjoy it a lot. She has only heard rumours about the food in prison, but if they are true, then any person would welcome any type of food from the outside. The officer that has been talking to Anastasia earlier, had seemed so friendly, and had left with a smile; however, when he had returned there was no sign of a smile.

“Ms Grekov, I am sorry, but I just need to ask whether you are family or just a friend.”

“I am just a friend, why?”

“I am so sorry, Miss, but Tyson was found dead in his cell this morning. I am really sorry for the loss of your friend.”

Just hearing those few shocking words, those unbelievable words, has suddenly left Anastasia somewhat deaf, as she suddenly cannot make out any sound that is currently surrounding her. She just looks at the officer, seeing his lips move, but she just cannot hear what he is saying.

‘Dead, but that is impossible. He was still alive yesterday; how could this have happened?’

She is shocked, actually more than shocked; she is petrified, because once again she has to deal with death, and so shortly after the deaths of her family. Anastasia is brought back to reality by the officer who had softly started to shake her, because he could see that she was looking blankly out in front of her.

“Are you okay, Miss, do you want me to bring you something, sugar water perhaps?”

Anastasia just shakes her head, and finally manages to speak, although her voice is shaky, all due to the tears that she is currently struggling to hold back, “How....how did he die?”

“They are not sure, but it was not suicide or murder. He was fine before breakfast this morning, but around ten ‘o clock, one of the other officers had discovered him unconscious on the floor, but by the time the medics had arrived, he was already cold.”

‘It was not suicide or murder,’ those being the only words Anastasia can think of right now.

“Will you be alright, Miss?”

Anastasia just gives a soft smile and after nodding, she takes her stuff and leaves, completely lost in her own thoughts.

FLASHBACK

“You know what, screw it, from now on, we are friends.”

“I like the sound of that, that is, if Tala doesn’t order my death here in prison, but I can really see us becoming good friends.”

END OF FLASHBACK

‘Tyson had tried to laugh it off as a joke, but he was actually serious; he knew that something like this would happen. They had managed to murder him; they had murdered the only man that knows the real truth about the deaths of my family. Those bastards! What type of monsters are these people?! Are they even human?!’

Anastasia continues walking down the corridor, completely lost in her own thoughts, when she suddenly hears two people conversing around a corner, and she would not have stopped to listen were it not for the name ‘Tyson’ being mentioned.

Anastasia stays around the corner, just quickly peeking around it, and she immediately recognises the red head that were at the court when Tyson had been found guilty.

“And you are sure that he has had no visitors up until this morning?”

“I am sure, Mr Ivanov, at least not while I was on duty.”

“Well, it does not matter, Tyson Granger is dead, and that is all that really matters now. Well done, officer, and as a token of my appreciation, I would like to invite you to a very important dinner tonight, if that is alright with you?”

“Of course, sir, I would be honoured.”

“Good; do you know where the Feniks manor is?”

“Not really, sir.”

“No worries, here is the address,” Tala hands a piece of paper to the officer with the physical address of the Feniks manor on it, “and you can be there at around six, or six thirty, which ever time suits you the best.”

“Six thirty will be fine, sir.”

“Excellent, see you then.”

“Likewise, Mr Ivanov.”

Anastasia listens as the officer walks away, and when she peeks around the corner once again, the red head is still standing there, but he is busy making a phone call.

“Kai, yeah it is done, Granger has been taken care of.”

Anastasia hears the red head stop pause, probably because the other person is talking or asking something, but when she hears the red head talk again, she silently gasps out in shock upon hearing what he says to the other person on the other end of the line.

“He says that Tyson did not have any visitors, but if it happens that there was someone with him, I will just take care of them, whether Tyson told them the truth or not, it will be no problem in finding out who the person or persons are, but anyway, the Grekov case has finally been taken care of.”

Anastasia suddenly has the urge to throw up upon hearing how the arrogant bastard is talking about her family like that, like it is some school assignment.

“I will see you at the Feniks manor later, because I have some business to take care of. See you then.”

Tala hangs up, and without looking around, starts to make his way to the exit. Anastasia decides right there and then that she is going to follow the red haired man, and she silently starts to follow him. She notices the car that he had gotten into, and she too quickly gets into her car, and then starts to follow him out of the parking. She already had noted down his licence plate number, and she is sure that it will come in handy somewhere in the future. Anastasia tries her best to look inconspicuous as she continues to follow Tala. She is going to follow him until night time, no matter how much fuel she has to waste.

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It is almost six ‘o clock, and right now Anastasia is at the same exact spot where she has been standing for more than two hours. It is in front of a beautiful double storey house in a quiet suburban neighbourhood, and this is where she has been waiting for the red head the whole time.

‘Tala Ivanov, I will remember that name; you all will pay for what you had done to me, my family and to Tyson.’

Anastasia is currently sitting in front of Tala’s house, a house that looks so warm and inviting, not knowing that a killer lives within those welcoming walls. It is nearly dark, and Anastasia is starting to become very impatient in waiting for Tala. She knows for a fact that this is not the Feniks manor because a manor is much, much larger than this house, so she figures that he has to leave any moment if he wants to meet that officer on time.

And just as she has suspected, Tala comes walking out of the front door with a beautiful blonde by his side. Anastasia watches as the two share a deep kiss before Tala leaves the blonde to get into his car.

‘Finally; now I can see this Feniks manor for myself,’ Anastasia thinks to herself as she also starts up the car, and once again starts to follow Tala.

It has already been a twenty minute drive, but Anastasia finally spots Tala making a turn into a driveway with huge iron gates. She stops a feet away from where he has just driven in to, and when she looks beyond the gate, she cannot help but be amazed at the true beauty that is situated right in front of her. Anastasia climbs out of her car to admire the manor a bit more.

It is a huge three storey manor, Victorian style mixed with a modern touch. There are small driveway lights all along the drive way leading right up to the manor, and the manor itself has lights on the outside, it adding an unique illumination onto the manor, this effect just adding to the already spectacular beauty of the manor. Due to all of the lights that are shining, one can clearly see the front of the manor. There are a few cars parked in front of the main entrance, all fancy cars, except for one that immediately catches the attention of Anastasia. It is a pitch black 1970 Dodge Charger, and she simply cannot take her eyes off of the magnificent car.

‘Someone definitely has good taste; wonder who drives that beautiful beast? Whoever the guy is, is definitely my type of guy.’

While studying in America, Anastasia had come to love the classic American muscle cars, whether they are mustangs, Chevrolet, Pontiac, name it, she loves them all. She even loves their trucks and she has already planned that the first thing that she is going to do when she receives her inheritance, is to buy a Toledo blue coloured F -150 SVT Raptor, double cab. Just thinking about the truck makes her knees weak. She has already contacted various car companies that are willing to sell her one. Anastasia is so lost in thought about the cars that she almost misses the unknown car driving in through the gate.

‘Now that I know where the Feniks manor is, and where that Tala bastard can be found, I am going home. No use standing around here and waiting for my own death.’

With one last glance at the Dodge Charger and smirking at the car, Anastasia gets into her car and heads home, completely unaware of the horrors that is taking place on the inside of the Feniks manor.

Tala is waiting by the door for the officer to come inside.

“Welcome, friend, please follow me.”

“Thank you, Mr Ivanov.”

The officer follows Tala into the manor and just abruptly stops in his tracks just to look at the inside, “Wow, this place is breathtaking.”

“It really is; I have to admit, every time I walk through that door I can just be in complete awe, and just admire this place. I guess one will never really get use to the true beauty, but anyway, our dinner is this way,” Tala says while pointing to a long corridor decorated with mahogany coloured carpets, expensive paintings and various marble sculptures, a very expensive looking chandelier hanging in the middle of the corridor, along with various stylish lamps adorning the corridor.

The two men walk some distance before they reach two wooden doors. Tala gestures to the officer to go in first and when he does, it is not what the young officer had expected. The room is completely white, white tiles all around, even the ceiling looks like it has tiles on. The young officer turns his back towards Tala, and so does not see Tala remove his gun from his gun holster, and just when the young man is about to ask Tala what is going on, Tala shoots him twice in his head, the blood of the young being splattered all over the white tiles.

“Now you know what the white tiles are for,” is all Tala says before turning around and leaving the room.

He goes over to a small table that is situated in a corner that only has a telephone on it. Tala picks up the phone and makes a call.

“The white tile room in the marble decorated corridor, there is body in it, please take care of it.”

_“Yes, sir.”_

Tala places the phone back in place and then starts to make his way to the front door, walking casually through the beautiful corridor, taking in the lush feeling of the exquisite carpet underneath his shoes, a feeling that he never gets tired of.

The manor has an east wing and a west wing, but on the ground floor it has various corridors that extend to the north, each corridor with its own unique name and purpose.

Tala reaches the front entrance of the manor and just as he is about to walk outside, Kai calls him. Tala turns around and watches as his best friend is making his way down the stairs, a bottle of vodka in one hand, shirt open and his belt unbuckled. Tala can just chuckle at the sight of Kai, because it only means one thing: Kai has had some pudding.

“When I didn’t see you in the study, I figured you were down in The Chamber.”

Kai just smirks at his red haired friend, “Later. I had to blow off some steam.”

“I can see that; so, a new one or what?”

Again Kai just smirks, “Nah, I think I can still use her for another week before I get tired, and then she has reached her three week period anyway. Right now the bitch is resting, but I just came downstairs to get my smokes that I had forgotten in the car, and then after smoking about two cigarettes, I am heading back to finish her off for the night.”

Tala just laughs, “I already feel sorry for her, but anyway, I left the financial statements on your desk if you want to look at them later on. I have been meaning to ask, whatever happened to that guy that had tried to break into your office the other day, the one you had thought might be a spy.”

“He is still in a cell, but I am killing him later tonight right after I have finished upstairs.”

“Is it going to be gruesome?”

“Not tonight; just old school, slitting of the throat.”

“Cool, but anyway, if that is all, I will see you some other time.”

“I will walk with you,” Kai says and follows Tala outside, still with the bottle vodka in hand.

He waves Tala goodbye and then heads to the black Dodge Charger, and retrieves a box of cigarettes. Kai decides to remain leaning against his car as he smokes a cigarette before heading back inside.

Just like Anastasia, Kai also has a love for classic American muscle cars, and he has a few in his name; a black 1969 Dodge Charger 500; a black and red Ford Shelby GT500 KR, which is not a classic; a black 1969 Charger RT; a black and gold 1976 Pontiac Firebird and also a charcoal coloured Dodge RAM 1500 truck, which again, is also not a classic. Kai also has two bikes in his collection: a black and silver Kawasaki Ninja ZX – 10R, and a black and red Kawasaki Ninja ZX – 14.

One might think that Kai would be riding in luxury like in a Rolls Royce or a BMW or even a Mercedes Benz, but that is not just the type of guy that he is. He likes his bikes and he likes his muscle cars, along with his truck that he also loves very much. Kai however, does not drive any of these cars or bikes to work; he always goes to and leaves his company with a helicopter that is always ready on the roof of his building. It is only when he does not work, that he drives around with his cars and bikes.

Kai finishes his cigarette after a few minutes of smoking and takes a few sips from the vodka bottle, before heading back inside, back upstairs to the woman that he is spending the night with. Kai has never taken a woman back to the Hiwatari manor; he always takes them back to the Feniks manor if he does not spend the night at their place or in a hotel room. The Hiwatari manor is Kai’s sanctuary, a place where he escapes to when he just wants to be by himself and also to recollect on all of his thoughts and feelings. Kai does not want to ruin his sanctuary by bringing a slut into the manor; it will just ruin it all. He has never done it, and he will never do it. In his eyes, no woman is allowed in to his sanctuary.

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The early morning sky of Moscow is filled with car horns and sirens as everyone is trying their best to get to their work places on time, and unfortunately some of them are in such a hurry that they end up in an accident, because they are not paying any attention to their surroundings.

Anastasia is sitting on her balcony, wrapped in a blanket with a warm cup of coffee in her hands, just looking out over at the outside world. She has not slept at all, despite getting into bed very tired and also very early. Her thoughts are currently all over the place, ranging from her parents, to Tyson, to the Feniks manor, even to Kai, and she just cannot seem to stop thinking of how her life has changed so much in such a short time.

Not too long ago she had been content with her life, it was boring and exciting at the same time, there was no heartache, no sleepless nights and no death, but now, she is caught up in a world where her parents and brother have been murdered by a cruel and heartless man, a man that happens to be the head of the most feared mob in Russia. She has made a new friend, but he too has been murdered, she has heard a man speak of how he will deal with someone, making it sound like he is just taking out the trash. She was happy and content when she had not known about any of this horrible stuff, not knowing with what type of people she has to share a city with, never mind the Russian land itself.

Anastasia looks all around her, wondering what other horrible things are taking place right now as she is sitting here and drinking her coffee peacefully. Is it still too early for someone else to get murdered right now, and what about the drugs, are there people using it right this minute, and worst of all, what is Kai Hiwatari doing this very moment? Is he plotting another innocent person’s death or murder, or have he just taken a life like some people take caffeine?

Anastasia continues to drink her coffee while being lost in her thoughts but just as she is about to put her cup down on the small coffee table that is situated next to her, a thought suddenly comes to mind. She quickly gets up and rushes inside to retrieve her cell phone. She finally finds the number that she was looking for, and after pressing the call button, she hears it ringing for a while, until someone finally answers.

_“Pasternak speaking?”_

“Is this detective Yuri Pasternak?”

_“It is; how may I help you, Miss?”_

“Will it be possible to see you today, detective, it is very important. I may have some new info on the case of the Grekov murders.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plot twist

CHAPTER 4 – going down a strange memory lane

Kai is sitting at his glass desk in his office with his reading glasses on, busy with paper work. He has been at the office since six ‘o clock the morning. He has to leave for Japan in four days’ time and he wants to make sure that all of his work is up to date, seeing as he will be gone for almost two weeks.

It is already two days since the death of Tyson, and life has gone on as normal as it can. Kai has already forgotten all about the death of the man that he has found so very annoying; it is something of the past. Kai is busy with financial records of the company which he has to represent to the board just before he leaves for Japan, so he is trying his best to finalise everything.

While looking through the numbers, Kai gets interrupted by his PA, Vera, calling him to inform him that a detective Pasternak is here to see him.

“Sent him in,” is all Kai says before continuing on with his work.

Kai does not even acknowledge the man when he enters his office; he only looks up when the man comes to stand right in front of his desk, “Mr Hiwatari, do you mind if we talk for a few minutes?”

Kai silently groans inwards, thinking that he really does not have the time to talk to the authorities right now, but agrees anyway by removing his glasses and looking up at the detective in front of him and nodding his head silently.

Detective Pasternak just smiles and then walks over to one of the large windows, looking out over at the city, “This sure is some view, Mr Hiwatari.”

Pasternak is standing casually in front of the window with his hands in his pockets, and this demeanour of the detective angers Kai, because how dare this inferior man come into his office and act all superior and arrogant. Kai does not answer the detective’s question and just simply leans back in his chair, relaxing completely while looking at the annoying man that is currently admiring the view of the magnificent city that is Moscow.

Pasternak continues talking while sounding a little smug with himself, “I imagine that this view can bring a sense of calmness over any one that looks out of this window, soothing one’s guilty conscious, making them forget about all of the bad things that they had done.”

This immediately catches Kai’s attention, but he remains sitting in a calm demeanour in his chair.

“Tell me, Mr Hiwatari, do you think that if a killer had a view like this, that he would appreciate the life a little bit more, or just see it as another view from a window?”

“Why are you here, detective? If you don’t mind, I don’t really have time to chit chat, so just say whatever you came here to say.”

Yuri remains looking at the view in front of him, changing the angle of his head every minute or so to get a good look all over.

He takes his time in answering Kai’s question, still acting smug with himself, “Have you ever heard of the Grekov family, Mr Hiwatari?”

Just then Kai realises that Tyson had indeed managed to talk to someone, and he that is Kai, is already starting to plan the death of this detective and anyone else who might be involved in this case.

“Who?” is all Kai asks, remaining calm on the outside, although he is boiling on the inside right now.

Pasternak finally turns away from the window and slowly makes his way to right in front of Kai’s glass desk, the smug look replaced with one of very seriousness on Yuri’s facial features, “Ivan, Alisa and Vladimir Grekov, a family that has been murdered some time ago, murdered in their own home during the night. The coward that had killed them did not even give them a chance to defend themselves as he had drugged them all, and only after they were completely unconscious, did he slit their throats; very pathetic in my opinion. Only a weak and incompetent man will think of killing someone in that way.”

Kai continues to remain expressionless, knowing that the detective is just trying to get a rise out of him, to see whether Kai had done it or not.

“I have never heard of such a family, detective, so I am very sorry if I cannot help you on the case.”

“I find it rather strange, Mr Hiwatari, that you do not know them, seeing as I have learned from a valuable source that you were in fact the one that had murdered those three people, and then orchestrating the evidence in such a manner that you ended up framing a poor innocent soul, which strangely enough, is also dead, and this right after he had been found guilty of the murders.”

Kai can no longer contain himself and abruptly stands up, walking around the desk and comes to a standstill right in front of Yuri, Kai slightly looking down at the detective, “I suggest that you get your facts straight, Pasternak, or I will see you in court for wrongfully accusing me of such a crime. I am only going to say this once, so listen very good: I did not kill anyone, no matter what anyone says. There has never been any proof for any of those accusations, and there never will be any proof, so you can go and tell that so called valuable source of yours to tell the truth, instead of blaming someone innocent. You said it yourself, someone has already been found guilty of the murders, so why would I frame someone I don’t even know for something I did not do.”

Kai turns around, leaving the detective feeling very intimidated at the moment, but he does not show it.

“If you have nothing else to say, I will appreciate it if you can leave my office, detective, and to not bother me again with such nonsense.”

“This is not over, Hiwatari.”

“In my opinion, it is. You know the way out.”

Kai sits back down in his chair and after placing his glasses back on, he returns to his paper work, completely ignoring Pasternak. Yuri has no choice but to leave the office, but he is seething from the inside about the fact that Kai had the audacity to intimidate and to disrespect him like that; he is an officer of the law, and that is against the law.

Yuri gives Kai one last dirty look, and then leaves the office, ensuring that he slams the door shut with force on his way out. Kai does not even flinch at this gesture, because he somehow has expected it to happen, it has happened so many times already because Kai has a special touch with infuriating people, without him doing or saying much.

‘I will get to the bottom of this; mark my words, Hiwatari,’ Yuri thinks to himself as he storms away from the office, he not even greeting Vera as he walks right past her, heading towards the elevator to leave.

Kai waits until he is certain that Pasternak is gone before he calls Tala.

“That idiot Granger did manage to talk to someone.”

_“Are you sure?”_

“Yes; a detective had just paid me a visit, Yuri Pasternak, accusing me of the murders of the Grekov family, and he even went as far as accusing me of framing Tyson.”

_“I will find out who it is that Tyson had talked to; what about Pasternak?”_

“Leave him to me; I will get rid of that cocky bastard myself.”

_“I will call you later about any info that I have obtained.”_

“Good; I want to know who it is, and I will take care of that person personally.”

Without saying anything else, Kai hangs up on Tala. Kai is furious about Pasternak, and he is also furious with Tyson for having the balls to talk to someone and telling the truth. Kai were the one that had instructed Tala to go and confess to Tyson of what was done to him, and it was only for his own amusement.

He was sure that Tyson would shut up, seeing as the life of his grandfather had been threatened, but it just comes to show once more, that the idiot really does not have a brain, and he really does not think of the consequences of opening that huge trap of his that he calls a mouth.

Kai already has the perfect way of killing Pasternak and whoever had blabbed to the detective. He is going to kill them all at the same time, and he is going to make sure there will be blood, how much he is not sure yet, but the way he feels right now, it will be a blood bath when he is done with these people.

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Anastasia is sitting at a coffee shop, waiting for Yuri Pasternak. He had called her about two hours ago, saying that they have to meet, today if it is possible, hence why she is sitting here right now. She has only arrived about three minutes ago, and luckily she does not need to wait too long because just then Yuri comes walking in through the door, and she can already see by the look on his face that the meeting with Kai had not gone well.

Yuri proceeds to take a seat while sighing, this being even more confirmation to Anastasia that the meeting with Hiwatari really did not go well.

“It was that bad huh?”

“You have no idea. The guy is so arrogant, thinking that he is God or something. I had confronted him with all of the facts, but he just denied everything, claiming that he has never heard of a family with the surname of Grekov. Kai also denied killing anyone, and he even threatened me, saying that he will take me to court for wrongful accusations against him. That prick has no respect for authority or any official of the law, but that arrogant attitude of him is a clear indication that he in fact did do it. I have come to learn with these types of people that the more arrogant they appear, the guiltier they are of their crimes.”

“But do you believe that he did kill my family?”

“There is no doubt about that, Anastasia, but this helps us in no way. The evidence had all pointed to Tyson, but with him now dead, we are really at a loss. Tyson may have been able to help a lot, seeing as he was working in The Chernyy Feniks mob, but without his statement, it really will not solve anything. I had also found out that the officer that was helping that Tala guy, has also turned up dead. They had found his body in his own car in a very bad part of the city, so there is another dead end.”

Yuri takes both of Anastasia’s hands into his, avoiding her eyes, because what he is about to say is going to be like losing her family all over again, “I am sorry to say this, Anastasia, but there is nothing we can do; we are unable to bring the real killer to justice, because Kai has really done an excellent job in covering his tracks.”

And just as he has expected, his words has hit a painful spot within Anastasia, her eyes starting to appear watery as her tears starts to build up. The two continue holding hands, as Anastasia silently lowers her head to let her tears fall freely.

“I am so sorry, Ana,” is all Yuri can manage to say in a soft whisper.

The young Grekov keeps her head low, her heart breaking all over again. The real murderer is going to get away, and there is nothing that anyone can do about it, and that really is like losing her family all over.

‘How is this possible? The killer is right in front of us, but we can’t do shit, and that all because there is no proof to back up our claims. I swear the law protects the criminals more than it protects the innocent civilians. I am so sorry, mama, papa, brother, that the man who took you away from me, will not pay for his crimes. There has to be something that I can do, anything!’

Anastasia is brought out of her thoughts when Yuri gives her hands a light squeeze, which causes her to look up at him and smile while tears are still rolling down her face.

“Oh, Anastasia, it breaks my heart to see you like this; I just wish that there was something that we could do, but the law just does not allow it.”

Just then Anastasia gets an idea, but she already knows how Yuri will react, but it is worth a try, “What about doing something like taking the law into our own hands?”

Yuri suddenly appears very shocked upon hearing that, so shocked that he immediately pulls his hands away from Anastasia, “We are not criminals, Anastasia; we cannot go to their low level, please tell me that you were just joking about that idea.”

Anastasia knew that she would get that kind of reaction, so all she can do now to diffuse the situation is by making Yuri believe that she was not serious, so she just silently nods her head and smiles at him. Yuri returns the smile, and this time only takes one of her hands into his, and gives it another light squeeze.

“You really had me worried there for a moment.”

“Sorry,” is all she manages to say.

“Look, Anastasia, I know that this must be really hard for you, but I can promise you, Hiwatari will not get away with his crimes; somewhere in the future he will mess up. Cocky and arrogant bastards like him can only get away with their crimes for a so long until everything around them starts to crumble, and then they will pay for all the bad that they have ever done in their lives; Hiwatari is no different.”

“Thanks for everything, Yuri; I know it must have been difficult to go on something like this with only words and no real evidence, but it really means a lot to me that you were willing to listen to me, and also to believe me.”

“I have never liked Hiwatari, no matter what he does for this country; he is arrogant, cocky, selfish and a very bad person. He may have many convinced with his innocent act, but I have a nose for the bad and the ugly, and he is reeking of the bad; that is why I had joined the law in the first place, to bring assholes like him to justice, and to make them pay for all of their crimes. I were just all too happy that there were someone else that also saw the ugly in that Hiwatari bastard, so you really do not have to thank me. I should be thanking you, Anastasia, and just remember, I will always be there for you, and you can call me any time, day or night. You have found a friend in me, and one thing about me is that when I make friends with someone, I intend to stay friends with that person for the rest of my life, so now you have a friend for life.”

This again brings Anastasia to tears, but this time it is tears of gratitude.

Anastasia gets up from her seat and gives Yuri a very tight and sincere embrace, he gladly returning it. The two friends continue to stay at the coffee shop for another two hours where they just ate and laughed, temporarily forgetting all about their current dilemma.

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Kai is still busy with the reports, despite it already being way past six the evening. Most of the personnel have already left, leaving Kai in peace and quiet, but not for long because Tala comes walking through the door, and takes a seat on the black leather couch that is in Kai’s office.

“I take it that you have information about the so-called source,” Kai says without looking up.

“Yeah, and you will not believe it; it seems like it is a relative of the Grekov family, an Anastasia Grekov.”

Just then Kai feels a sudden rush go through his body upon hearing that name, how he is almost certain that he had just gone pale, his hearts skipping a few beats, but he does not show any sign to Tala, and so pretends to hear the name for the very first time, “Why would a relative of them go and visit Tyson?”

“My only guess is that she had wanted to know why he did it, and I guess that is when Tyson decided to tell her everything. It is just very strange that she had believed him in the first place. So, do you want me to help you take care of her?”

“No!” Kai exclaims, and realises too late that his actions may have just confused Tala, so he quickly tries to correct the mistake, “I mean, I told you earlier that I will take care of it myself, so you can relax; no need to get your hands dirty with these petty people that think they are all that.”

Luckily for Kai, Tala seems to believe him, and does not press the matter any further, “Well then, let me know if you need any help. I have to get home to go and treat that lunatic of mine seeing as I am leaving for Slovakia tomorrow.”

Kai just chuckles at that statement, knowing exactly what Tala means by ‘treating the lunatic’, the lunatic being Tala’s wife, Alisia, “Send her my regards.”

“Will do so, Kai; anyway, goodnight, and try not to work yourself to death.”

“Hn.”

Tala gets up while smirking, and then leaves. When Kai hears the click of the door, he takes off his glasses and leans back into his chair, rubbing his eyes in the process, and then turns his chair so that he can look out over the city.

After some time of just watching the skyline of the city, he removes his wallet and then removes a photo from one of his secret pockets, a small photo that has been laminated and that contains the faces of a family of four, all of them smiling and looking so full of life. Kai gently strokes his right thumb over the face of the young blonde haired woman with the spring green coloured eyes, she sitting right in front of her family.

‘Anastasia Grekov; it has been some time since I have thought of you. I really hope that you can find it in your heart one day to forgive me for taking away your family, but one day you will know the real reason for why it was done, one day.’

A small, and very rare, smile creeps onto Kai’s face when he suddenly starts thinking back to when he had met the bubbly blonde haired girl for the first time.

FLASHBACK

“Are you sure you want me to come with you, Vlad?”

“For the hundredth time, yes, Kai; I want my best friend to be by my side in New York City.”

Kai just sighs, leaning his head back onto the headrest of the couch in his best friend’s penthouse. Vladimir Grekov, his best friend, that no one knows about; not even his other best friend, Tala, knows about this friendship. The two young men are busy having a few drinks at Vladimir’s place, talking about their upcoming trip to New York City along with Vladimir’s parents.

“Fine, I will come, but then I am going in my disguise.”

Vladimir almost chokes on his drink when Kai says that, “Yeah, I don’t really want you to go in it, but maybe it is necessary.”

Kai just smirks, “It is, and besides, you know that we always have lots of fun whenever I have it on.”

“Of course, no one can deny against that, bro, but anyway, just make sure that you are at the airport at eight AM on Thursday morning.”

Kai just nods while taking another sip from his drink, “That gives me enough time for my people to get my fake identity in order.”

Vladimir just smiles at his friend, but says nothing else as he downs the last bit of the beverage in his bottle.

The flight to New York was a long and tiring 10 hours, especially for Kai seeing as he was already in his disguise, a wig that had made him look like he had sleek black hair that reached just above his shoulders, it rounded off with deep blue coloured contact lenses, Kai going by the name of Demyan Yakovlev. It was also the first time meeting the Grekov elders, despite him and Vladimir already being best friends since they were 18. The time they had landed in New York City, it was only 1 pm, and they all had jet lag when they had landed.

Vladimir and Kai had already collected their luggage, and were slowly walking behind Ivan and Alisa, the two men in a serious and deep conversation.

“Kai, you know I love you like a brother, but there is something that I have to ask you, actually, more like of demand you.”

“I am listening.”

“My sister, Anastasia, I know her very well, and that is why I know that it will only be a matter of time before she is going to start to flirt with you, because she just cannot resist a good looking guy, and let’s face it, even with the disguise on, you are still good looking,” Vladimir just laughing at Kai’s shocked expression upon hearing his best friend say that he is good looking, “but anyway, I don’t mind it; you can flirt back, heck, you two can even sleep together, I won’t mind it, but that is where it has to stop. Whatever happens here in New York between you two will remain here. When we return to Moscow you will never ask me about her or her wellbeing, you will not try to contact her, nothing; you will forget about her. Do I make myself clear, Kai?”

Kai just nods his head at Vladimir’s request, he finding it slightly strange, but still agrees to it.

“I am really sorry, Kai, but I do not want my baby sister to get involved with a mob boss.”

Kai places a reassuring hand onto Vladimir’s shoulder, and just smiles, “I understand, Vlad, and I probably would have done the same if I were in your shoes; hey, maybe your sister and I won’t even hit off. You know my type after all. ”

Vladimir just raises an eyebrow, “Exactly, my sister is not your type, and about you two not hitting it off, we’ll see about that, my friend, we’ll see whether you will be able to resist my sister. Let’s just say that my dear sister has a way with words and no matter how crude it may seem sometimes, it is those words of hers that creeps into one’s heart, so just be warned.”

Kai and Vladimir continue to follow Ivan and Alisa out of the airport, only to be met with a hyperactive Anastasia who jumps her whole family the moment she spots them. The moment Kai sees the young blonde haired woman and how full of life she is, he realises what Vladimir was talking about. It really is going to be difficult to not hit it off with the young Grekov woman. The moment Anastasia and Kai lock eyes, he concludes to himself that he indeed is going to be in trouble. Her eyes just luring him in, those one of a kind spring green coloured eyes, those very windows to her soul causing him to feel a slight tightening in the lower parts of his jeans, his crotch area to be more exact.

Kai can still remember their first very conversation clearly.

“And who is this hunk, my dear brother? I am Anastasia, Anastasia Grekov, just in case my dear sweet family forgot to mention me. You single?”

“Demyan Yakovlev, and yes, I am single,” Kai not missing the glint of mischief within Anastasia’s eyes.

“Demyan, honey, please excuse my daughter. We tried our best to teach her some manners after we lured her out of the sewer, but alas, she did not want to be taught. Such a loss,” Alisa says while shaking her head from side to side and holding her hand in front of her heart, pretending to be saddened over her daughter, all five bursting out in laughter.

The five start to make their way out of the airport, Vladimir walking in front with his parents, while Anastasia and ‘Demyan’ take up the rear end.

“How is it possible that a guy like you is still single? You gay or what?”

Kai almost choke by that out of the blue question, his reaction causing Anastasia to snigger.

“Okay, so you are not gay, and you are single; well then, Demyan, that sounds like a recipe for a very good time,” the sly smile on Anastasia’s face a strong indication to Kai that he really is in trouble for various reasons, and he can hardly wait for the trouble to begin.

The five finally leave the airport and heads for a hotel where they all will be staying at for the duration of their visit; Ivan and Alisa are staying in their own room; Kai and Vladimir are sharing a room and lastly Anastasia has a room of her own.

The four travellers slept off their jet lag while Anastasia went shopping, the blonde haired woman being on a small break from her studies, until a week after New Year’s. Right before everyone retired to their beds to sleep of their jetlag, Anastasia had informed everyone that on New Year’s, they all will be going to Times Square where they will watch the ball drop at midnight, she clearly being very excited about the whole ordeal. 

Well, New Year’s Eve has finally arrived and it is packed in Time Square.

Kai and Anastasia had gotten quite close, despite knowing each other for only more than 24 hours. Ivan and Alisa did not mind, the two elders liking Kai, aka ‘Demyan’ a lot. Vladimir has also managed to find himself a date for the night.

It is not even midnight when the two elder Grekov’s announce that they are going back to their hotel room, and tells the youngsters to enjoy their night responsibly.

The moment Anastasia notices that her parents cannot see them anymore, she abruptly pulls Kai closer where she starts to kiss him deeply and passionately, surprising the young man, but he does not pull away, and instead also returns the gesture by placing his hands on the small of her back, pulling her closer to him, and not too long after, Anastasia pulls away from the heated moment with a very self satisfied smirk and a devious twinkle in her eye.

Kai quickly turns to Vladimir, but is overcome with relief upon seeing that his friend is also exchanging saliva with his date, and so he relaxes completely, pulling Anastasia closer to him once more while capturing her lips which causes the young woman to squeak, much to Kai’s amusement.

Kai has developed a liking in the blonde haired woman, her attitude just being so contagious and inviting. Kai has started to feel very weird around her, feeling things that he has never felt before, and all of that in such a short time period. Anastasia somehow has managed to make him feel good about himself, and he wants to be with her all of the time. He thinks back to Vladimir’s words at the airport and realises that it might be a little difficult for him to forget all about the bubbly blonde, seeing as she is so intoxicating to him.

The two youngsters continue with their heavy make out session until Kai finally pulls away for some much needed air, but he keeps his forehead pressed against Anastasia’s forehead.

“I have wanted to do that for some time now; I am kind of pissed at my brother for not introducing us earlier.”

Kai just chuckles at her, knowing exactly what she means. He too feels the same way, but that is for another time. The two once again engage in another passionate kiss which continues until the ball is dropped at midnight. After that event, the four start to party until the early hours of the morning.

“Do you want to come back to my room for the remainder of the night, Demyan?”

Kai just pulls her close to him, wrapping his arms securely around her body, just gazing into her beautiful eyes, getting lost in the pools of her spring green coloured eyes, “I can’t think of anything better,” is all he says against her lips in a seductive and husked manner.

“Yo, bro, mind if I take your friend for a ride?!” Anastasia yells at Vladimir over the noise of the crowd, she not caring who hears her.

Vladimir’s mouth just drops at that question, shocked at how blunt his sister can really be in public; even Kai gulps at that question, but at the same time, he finds it very sexy, and also a very strong turn-on.

Anastasia just sniggers at her brother’s open mouth, “Close your mouth, Vladimir; strange things can get inside.”

“I am almost shocked to call you my sister.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know how I must watch what I say, but anyway; I am taking Demyan back to my place.”

Vladimir and Kai lock eyes, a silent agreement being made between the two men. Kai knows that his best friend is okay with it, but Vladimir’s eyes also remind Kai of what they had discussed at the airport.

“Just be safe, you two, that’s all; I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

Anastasia hugs her brother and gives him a peck on the cheek before she grabs Kai and drags him through the crowd.

Kai and Anastasia cannot keep their hands off of each other, the heated kissing continuing in the elevator, and it does not even stop when they reach the door of her room. They remain outside of Anastasia’s room, the young Grekov being pushed up against the door with Kai ravaging her lips and neck on separate occasions.

“Let....let’s move this inside,” Anastasia manages to say in a heaving voice while Kai kisses her passionately in her neck. He just groans at the suggestion, indicating his approval.

Kai proceeds to take the card key from Anastasia while still kissing her in her neck and successfully opens the door. The moment the two enter the room, they quickly start to remove each other’s winter coats and scarves, all while still kissing, and when they are only left standing in their normal clothes, they fall onto the couch, the lights already on in the room as Anastasia had never switched them off when she had left earlier.

Anastasia is on the bottom, her hands already roaming the toned back of Kai as he is having his way with her neck while keeping himself balanced over Anastasia by having his left arm placed on the headrest of the couch and the other hand resting just beside Anastasia’s head. He is already with a very hard on erection, and he is more than ready to remove all of Anastasia’s clothes and making her his. Almost like reading his mind, Anastasia suddenly starts to pull Kai’s shirt over his head, the kissing stopping for only that brief moment, and then she throws the shirt onto the carpet. The two immediately engage in another fierce kiss, tongues dominating each other, tasting each other.

Anastasia does not notice the breathtaking tattoos on Kai’s back, the tattoos of the black phoenix wings that almost cover his entire back. Her nails are digging into the tattoos, although she is not aware of it. She continues to wrap her legs tight around Kai’s body, he pressing the large bulge that is in his jeans against her crotch, Kai feeling the heat being radiated off from her crotch area, this just adding more to the already explosive excitement.

Kai breaks the kiss but only because he wants to remove Anastasia’s blouse and bra. When her upper body is completely naked, Kai admires her breasts for a while, they just being perfect for him. He notices the definite tattoo of a red phoenix right under her right breast, it going all the way down to just above her right hip, with the words ‘EVERY END HAS A NEW BEGINNING’ in Russian tattooed all along the red fiery bird, and this tattoo just adds to his excitement.

While Kai is looking down at Anastasia and admiring her, Anastasia is doing the same to him. Kai can see how her eyes are wandering over his body, taking in his tattoos, her eyes stopping for a brief moment at his nipple stud, the gleam in her eyes getting stronger with the look of desire. Suddenly, it is like both of them are hit with a bolt of lightning because the two once again grab each other, hands all over each other as the kissing becomes even more heated and demanding than before.

Both moan as they both are driven crazy with lust. Kai pulls away and moves down to her breasts where he starts to make turns in tasting and feeling the perky lady lumps, it driving him insane. He can feel how his boxers are starting to become a bit wet due to his pre come, his arousal almost becoming unbearable, and the fact that Anastasia is already moving her crotch area against his, just adds to the suffering. Anastasia is heaving and pulling on Kai’s hair as he continues having the time of his life with her breasts. One can almost smell the lust and desire in the air, its intoxicating aura being felt all over the room.

While Kai is still busy with her breasts, it was clear that Anastasia cannot take it anymore and so she starts to unbuckle his belt. This action immediately brings Kai back to his senses and he quickly pulls away, sitting up straight, this confusing Anastasia in the process, the look of confusion all over her face.

“And now, Demyan, did I do something wrong?”

Kai just sighs while running a hand through his black wig and then proceeds to get off of Anastasia, “I am sorry, Ana, but I do not want to take advantage of you; you don’t deserve this.”

Anastasia also sits up straight and faces Kai, the young man trying his best not look at her breasts, but it proving to be very difficult.

“What do you mean, Demyan? This is what I want, so you won’t be taking advantage of me.”

Kai once again looks into those deep spring green pools of this beauty in front of him, while having an internal battle with himself, “I will be leaving for Moscow soon and we will probably never see each other again. I [sighs] I just don’t think I will be able to live with myself if I did this to you.”

Anastasia just sits there, a smirk on her face, this now confusing Kai, “I just knew you were something special, Demyan, and I was not wrong.”

Before Kai can say anything to that, Anastasia moves in to kiss him, and it is as if his arms and hands are suddenly moving on their own accord because before he even realises it, he manages to pull Anastasia onto his lap, his hands having a firm grip on her ass as she slowly starts to grind her hips on his crotch area, causing him to grunt into her mouth.

Anastasia breaks the kiss after some time, and moves her lips to Kai’s right ear where she starts to talk in a very seductive voice, the heat of her breath on his ear sending Kai into a whole new dimension of lust, “You don’t want to take advantage of me, but I am going to take advantage of you, and here is a little fact, Demyan: I don’t spit, I swallow.”

Kai would have come right on the spot if it were possible upon hearing her say those very sexy words. Anastasia slowly starts to make her way down Kai’s toned body, kissing him all over while making sure she plays with his nipple stud before going all the way. Kai does not know what to do with his hands so he just softly starts to caress her arms all over as he watches at how she undoes his belt and zipper, exposing his big erection within his boxers.

“Mind lifting your ass, hot stuff, so that I can remove them,” she says in very playful tone.

Kai lifts his hips and is rather surprised at how quickly she removes his jeans and boxers, exposing his erection completely. Anastasia just licks her lips as she looks at the huge erection that is right in front of her, “I am going to enjoy this,” is all she says while looking into his deep blue eyes.

Kai looks on as she takes his member into both of her hands and then it is like he is hit with a wave of pleasure as she takes him into her mouth. Her warm breath on the head of his throbbing erection adds to the ecstasy, almost blinding Kai with lust. Her tongue twirls all around the head, the tip of her tongue licking all of the pre come as it teases his external urethral opening, while her right thumb is stroking his frenulum, this just adding to the pleasure, and as if that is not enough, her hands start to jerk him, driving Kai even crazier.

He just drops his head back and rests it on the headrest of the couch as he gets lost in the pure bliss of pleasure; she sure is skilled with her tongue. Kai’s eyes suddenly opens when he feels Anastasia taking him in deeper into her mouth, she changing it into a deep throat. Kai cannot hold back his moaning as the lust assaults his mind, his hips starting to move against Anastasia’s head, he slowly starting to thrust in to her mouth, his thrusting almost matching the movements of her hands and her head.

“Ana.....bloody hell....” is all Kai can manage to say in a stuttering voice, his own voice sounding very strange to him.

Anastasia increases her manner of sucking, sucking harder and faster on Kai’s quivering member, her hands matching the pace of her mouth. Kai can feel that he is reaching his peak and it is coming fast, but before he can warn her that he is about to come, he gets transported to a blissful place as his orgasm takes over all logic and all of his senses. Kai can feel how his body jerks and how the life leaves his legs as he shoots his essence into Anastasia’s throat, the sensation leaving his legs trembling.

Finally the euphoric assault on him passes and he finally manages to glance down at Anastasia, although it is through half open eye lids, and Kai discovers Anastasia looking up at him with a wicked gleam in her eyes, her lips glistening and appearing puffy from giving him such an intense blow job.

“Tasty,” is all she says before getting up, straddling Kai’s lap once more, his member slowly becoming limp. Kai is slightly panting and suddenly finds it very difficult to lift his arms so that he can hold Anastasia tight to his body, but luckily it is not needed as she follows her own initiative and lays her head down on to his chest, listening to his heart beat that is beating fast in his chest. Anastasia even takes Kai’s arms and wraps them around her body, causing the young Hiwatari to just smile at her kind gestures.

END OF FLASHBACK

Kai looks back down at the face of Anastasia; they had had a good time back in New York but he had to respect Vladimir’s wishes, and although it did pain him, he had never asked about her when they had returned to Moscow, despite there being many times that he just wanted to contact her. The bubbly blonde had sure left an impression on him, but as time went on, he managed to forget all about her, that is, until tonight.

‘So you are in back in Moscow, my bubbly blonde; too bad that our paths will never cross, not if I have a say in it. It is for the best; you are in my past and that is where you will remain, where you belong, you being nothing but a long forgotten memory to me. ’

Looking at Anastasia for one last time, Kai places the laminated photo back into his wallet, and takes out his cell phone. He dials a number and after a few rings, a woman picks up.

“I am coming over in about 40 minutes.”

_“I will be ready for you.”_

Kai hangs up without saying anything else, and then retrieves a cigarette. He lights it and then gets up to go and stand in front of his favourite window, he just looking out at the various sky scrapers, thinking about absolutely nothing, not even the blonde that had managed to capture his heart once upon a time.

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Anastasia is sitting on her couch, her knees pulled up to her chest, a photo album right in front of her. She is looking at the photos of her and her family that have been taken over the last three years. All the photos of her family are filled with smiles and laughter, just how she remembers them all. A stabbing pain can be felt within her heart as she once again thinks back to the murders of her family.

Anastasia continues to look through the album when she stops at a photo which is of her brother and his friend, Demyan. For a moment Anastasia forgets all about her pain as she thinks back to the enigma that she had met in New York. She starts to snigger to herself when she thinks back to what had happened between the two of them back in her hotel room on New Year’s Eve. She really had enjoyed sucking him, putting it first on her list of blow jobs.

One might think that Anastasia has been around the block a few times if one can judge her by how she acts towards guys that she fancies, but the truth is that she has only slept with two guys up until now, and a part of her wishes that Demyan would have been the third.

Anastasia does not like to sleep with guys that she does not have deep feelings for, but foreplay is a whole different story to her. Should anyone ask her right now how many guys she has sucked off so far, she will not be able to answer them; neither will she be able to answer them should they ask her how many guys has had their fingers and mouth in and on her lower regions. For her, foreplay is not so bad because she does not make an intimate connection with her body with the guy, and so she will do it anytime; sex, on the other hand, is a whole different story.

Anastasia was 17 when she had lost her virginity, and that was to her boyfriend of 13 months, and she had waited 11 months before she took that big step with him. The second guy that she had slept with was a guy that she had dated when she was in her second year of her studies, that relationship being 8 months long. But unfortunately, neither of the relationships had ended well, and that is why Anastasia had decided that she is not going to date anymore, and in that way she does not have to sleep with anyone, and it suits her perfectly.

But she still wishes that she and Demyan had hooked up that night, and they almost did the next morning were it not for Vladimir that came walking in. She was really attracted to Demyan, and she would not have regretted it for one minute, but it is in the past now.

Anastasia can still recall every effect that he had on her body at that time, every touch, every sound, everything. She had enjoyed his company so much, despite him being quiet most of the time. His kisses were so toxic on her mouth, her lips getting lost in his intoxicating taste, wanting to just taste and feel those lips more and more. His touches on her body sent tingles all down her spine, numbing her legs with a tingling effect; even her fingers felt like they have lost all ability to hold onto something. His kisses on her skin were even more toxic, sending her into a trance where every sensual feeling and sensation has been enhanced.

No man has ever made her feel like that, that just showing that he is a real man, knowing how to please a woman. A part of her really regrets that they never ended up having sex; she is certain that it would have driven her crazy, maybe even into an obsession with him and his body. She just wanted all of him at once, wanting to feel him deep inside of her while they gazed into each other’s eyes, but now she will never know how he would have felt in bed. At least she knows he is a gentleman, all just because he did not want to take advantage of her because he knew that they would not see each other again soon, if ever again.

Even his voice drove her insane; his deep masculine voice, carrying a tone of authority in it. She was convinced that he was a leader somewhere, ordering and delegating a lot of people around, well, that was what she got from the sound of his voice anyway. His hands were big and manly, and she can still remember how he held her hips with a firm grip, assuring her that he will not let her go, his hands making her feel safe, and also making her feel like a sexy woman, embracing her true sexuality. If only she could have one night with him, she would die happy.

‘Man, do I sound like a hissy or what,’ Anastasia chuckles to herself.

Anastasia starts to think of his blessed member in her mouth, how he had tasted, how she was secretly having a difficult time by taking him almost whole into her mouth. When she had done the deep throat, she had almost gagged because he was just so big. Her nether regions were pulsing that night, all with lust and desire, craving to have him between her legs, feeling that huge member deep inside of her, moving within her. She most definitely would have come very quickly if they indeed went all the way. A blush quickly makes it to the face of Anastasia, thinking of how quickly she went down on him.

‘Maybe he thought I was easy for going down on him like that, and so fast. I wonder what ever happened to him; Vladimir never did mention him after their trip to New York. Maybe he is already married or something or maybe he had even moved away; I don’t recall seeing him at the funeral. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted but yeah, that is all in the past. There is no use holding on to something that has already happened so long ago.’ 

Anastasia closes the album, along with all of the memories that goes with each photo. She gets up and goes to put it away high up in a cupboard, and then goes and gets herself a drink from the liquor cabinet.

Anastasia continues to drink until she can no longer feel or think, it being around 11 pm when she drunkenly passes out on the couch.

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Yuri is sleeping soundly in his bed, unaware of the stranger that is quietly lurking within his apartment right now.

Kai was fortunate to find the physical address of Pasternak’s home, and he had decided to pay the sniffing detective a little visit. Kai has a bottle of chloroform with him because he has something very special planned for Pasternak. It is just before three AM, and luckily for Kai the neighbourhood is quiet and peaceful, no one being aware of the bad man that is walking amongst them.

Kai easily finds the bedroom of Yuri and is very satisfied to find the man fast asleep in his bed. Kai takes out a piece of cloth and wets it with the chloroform. He quietly places the bottle on to the bedside table next to the bed, and proceeds to switch on the light. Kai then starts to shake Pasternak awake, and when the detective finally opens his eyes, he gets a huge fright when he sees Hiwatari leaning over him. Kai quickly covers his mouth and nose with the cloth as Pasternak tries to fight Kai off of him.

The last thing the detective sees is the sly smile on Kai’s mouth, hearing the words that send him into a panic mode, “Now you will find out just exactly how I had murdered the Grekov family, detective,” and then everything goes black for the detective.

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It is almost ten ‘o clock in the morning and Anastasia had only awoken a couple of minutes back with the mother of all hangovers. She has already taken a couple of headache pills, and is currently sitting with a glass of water instead of a cup of coffee. She is not thinking clearly and that is why she is currently sitting with a telephone book, looking up the number for Hiwatari Enterprises. Anastasia quickly finds it, and without thinking twice of what she is about to do, she gets the phone and dials the number, hearing it ring.

_“Hiwatari Enterprises, how may I help you?”_

It is a young man that answers the phone and then as if working on auto pilot, Anastasia just replies that she wants the offices of Kai Hiwatari. The man puts her through and after listening to an annoying tone, an elder woman finally answers.

_“Mr Hiwatari’s office, good morning; how may I help you?”_

“Hi, yeah, I was wondering if I can talk to Mr Hiwatari?”

_“I am sorry, Miss, but he is not at the office today; can I take a message?”_

Anastasia silently curses the man for not being there, before responding to the woman, “Err, no, it’s okay; I will call another time. Bye.”

_“Good day to you, miss.”_

Anastasia throws the phone, pissed that she could not talk to Hiwatari, but her anger disappears very quickly when she smells herself.

“Eew! I smell like a hobo!” and as quickly as she can, Anastasia takes off all of her clothes and hurries to the shower.

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Pasternak wakes with a groan, a headache and a very stiff neck. The young detective has no idea why his head is in so much pain; he does not recall drinking the previous evening so why does it feel like he has a monster of a hangover. He tries to hold his head but then suddenly realises that he cannot move his arms. He slowly opens his eyes and sees that he is in a very white room, and that he is lying on a very small and uncomfortable bed, both of his legs and arms tied to railings.

An image of a man looming over him flashes through Yuri’s mind, and then he suddenly remembers what had happened while he was still sleeping. He frantically starts to look around the room, or at least as far his head can lift, and gets a huge fright when he sees the person that he was looking for, sitting in a chair, cross legged and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“I am glad to see that you are finally awake, detective Pasternak,” the disgust very clear in Kai’s voice.

Kai gets up and starts to make his way towards Yuri, the knife in his hand as clear as daylight. It is a stainless steel undercover karambit knife, and Kai looks very at ease with the knife in his right hand. Yuri does not even realise that his mouth has been covered with duck tape, until he wants to say something to Kai, the only noise coming from the detective that of a muffled voice.

“You wanted to know whether I knew the Grekov family, and the answer is yes; I knew them, and I was the one that had killed them all, slitting their throats while they were drugged, and now, detective Paternak, I am going to kill you in the exact same way that I had killed them, the only difference being that I will not drug you. You will be wide awake, experiencing every little detail of how your life slowly leaves your body, as you fall into a dark abyss. You will feel how your blood flows from your open throat and the last thing you will see will be my face, looking very satisfied as yet again, I had gotten away with a murder, and there is nothing anyone can do about it.”

Yuri’s eyes widens when Kai comes closer to his throat, and then he feels the knife pierce his skin, slicing his neck open, causing him to scream out.

“Scream all you want, Pasternak, no one will hear you, and that friend of yours, Anastasia Grekov, she is next, and just because she is a woman, I will abuse the little bitch probably before taking her life in the exact same way in which I had murdered her family.”

Yuri can feel how the blood flows down his neck, the lukewarm liquid covering his entire neck while an intense pain from the open wound accompanies the flow of the crimson liquid. His eyes are locked on Kai, seeing how the young man has a sly smile while still holding the karambit knife in his hand. Pasternak finally starts to feel how he is becoming weak from all of the blood loss, he slowly losing his consciousness until the darkness finally claims him entirely.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been some time since I have updated a chapter and that is why today I am going to post a few just to make up for the delay, so enjoy it!

Chapter 5 – Meet the ‘crew’

The pain filled moans of a woman can clearly be heard as a man continues kicking an already bleeding woman that is lying in a fetal position on the floor as the blows continues to assault her already battered body. No matter how much she begs and cries or pleads for the man to stop, he just does not listen and continues kicking the poor defenceless woman.

Just then a young man enters the room, his hair in an almost spiked-up fashion, the colour of his hair almost orange with the most striking emerald green eyes, a golden ringed earring pierced through his left earlobe, the young man dressed in an all white suit. He silently watches at how the other man continues his assault on the poor defenceless woman, until he finally clears his throat to indicate his presence.

The other man immediately stops with his assault, and quickly steps away from the woman, panic on his face, “Mr Masefield, I am sorry, I did not you see you there.”

The green eyed man just chuckles, striking fear into the other man, “Of course you wouldn’t, Jozef; you are clearly too busy assaulting this poor woman.”

The man named Mr Masefield casually walks towards, and then kneels, beside the whimpering woman, and removes a tissue from within one of his white blazer’s inner pockets, handing it to the woman. She hesitates a while before taking the tissue from the man that is suddenly showing her such kindness. She starts to cry even more, he just placing a comforting hand on her left shoulder.

“There, there, all is better now,” he says in a gentle tone of voice, and then turns towards the one that goes by the name Jozef, “What did she do to be treated like this, Jozef?”

“The whore went and got herself pregnant, sir, and as far as I know that that is bad for business.”

Masefield does not respond to Jozef and instead helps the woman get up, “Come, my dear, let’s go to my office so that we can talk about this.”

The woman gets up with Masefield’s help, where he starts to lead her out of the cold room, towards his office which is just down the hall.

The woman takes a seat after they enter his office, she still sniffling but at least she has stopped crying.

Masefield takes his place behind his desk, and just looks at the woman, his arms casually resting on the railings of his chair, “What’s your name, my dear?”

“Dominika, sir.”

“Are you really pregnant, Dominika?”

The woman just silently nods her head.

“I see, and the father of this child?”

“No one important, just some guy I met, sir; he does not care about me, nor does he care about this baby.”

Masefield continues to look at the woman, a sly smile slowly developing around his mouth, “You work for us a prostitute, yes?”

Again she just nods.

“And I take it you work on the streets, not in one of our clubs?”

Again just a silent nod comes from the woman.

“Do you want to continue working for us, Dominika?”

“Very much, sir; I really need the money, and I really make good money with you.”

Masefield stands up from his place and walks over to the woman, softly placing his index finger below her chin, and gently lifts it up so that the two can look eye to eye, “If you want to continue working for us, I suggest you get rid of that thing that is inside of you, and if you ever,” Masefield suddenly grabs her chin with an incredible forceful grip and yanks her head more upwards, the sly smile still on his face, “ever sleep with someone else while you are not working, I will make sure that your death will be as slow and painful as it possibly can be. Do I make myself clear?”

Dominika just whimpers, but luckily manages to nod her head.

“Good; you have two days to get rid of that thing, and then I want you back on the job. Now get out of my sight, you worthless street slut.”

Masefield releases Dominika’s chin but with a great force, Dominika’s head being yanked to the other side. She staggers out of the office as fast as she can, her injuries making it a painful process. Masefield returns back to his place behind his desk, and then casually continues on with his work on the computer.

Brooklyn Masefield is a cruel, cold, conniving and a very dangerous man, standing at 6’1. What makes him so dangerous is, is for the fact that he has the ability to convince any person that he has only their best interests at heart, and that they can be best friends with him, when in fact it is the complete opposite. Brooklyn cares about no one else; all he cares about is only his needs and wants, how he can get them and how many people he can exploit, hurt or destroy in the process. He loves to play mind games, and because he is so intelligent, no one even realises his mind games until it is too late, and then there is nothing that can be done about the situation, it being too late. His natural charm also adds to his dangerous personality, making him even more toxic than he already is. No one really knows where they stand with Brooklyn because he will never reveal his true intentions to anyone, not even to his co-workers.

The green eyed man is 26 years of age and is very high up in The Chernyy Feniks mob. He is in charge of all of the contract killings and prostitution along with another man that is also high up the mob, Mikhail Romanov. Brooklyn oversees many drug operations in Russia, and he is also in charge of all the motor theft in Hungary and Slovakia; he also handles all illegal gambling, and he reports to Tala and Ray if there are problems that may arise.

As one can imagine, Brooklyn travels a lot seeing as he has so many responsibilities in so many places, but he does not mind it because he is overall a free spirited man, despite his dark nature. He and Kai are not best friends, but they do respect each other very much, mostly because both of them are cruel and calculating killers with a keen liking for manipulation and mind games. Kai chose him two years ago because he knows how Brooklyn can be friendly and deadly at the same time, traits that have earned Hiwatari’s respect, although there were another man that were Kai’s first choice in this position, but Brooklyn had the unfortunate task of bringing it to Kai’s attention that the other guy had been very disloyal towards The Chernyy Feniks, and the traitor were not only eliminated from his work in the mob, but also from life itself.

Brooklyn, just like many of his co-workers, is single and enjoys the single life. He and Kai met each other through Mikhail and although the two did not like each other at first, they have learned to get along, and so, have developed a strong working relationship based mostly on trust. The two don’t really communicate with each other, mostly just when they have meetings or parties at the Feniks manor.

Currently Brooklyn is in the Czech Republic where Mikhail is in charge, but Brooklyn will have to leave for Russia in a few days’ time as there is a new shipment of drugs coming in and he needs to be there. He also has to be there alongside Tala because they have to increase the security at the various locations where their drugs are being kept, seeing as one of their own workers had the audacity to steal from them. Brooklyn and Mikhail scouts for prostitutes and works along with Valerie Zorskia and Hilary Utkin if they are in need of more women for the prostitution business; Valerie and Hilary are involved in the human trafficking department.

Mikhail Romanov is 27, half Russian and half Samoan. Standing at 6’6, he can strike fear into anyone with just his height alone. He is a big guy, very muscular with long black sleek hair that reaches under his shoulders; he also has a traditional Samoan tattoo covering his entire right arm. Mikhail has a very trusting, and almost friendly, personality. Because of his height and muscles, many people find the big man scary and intimidating, but once they get to know him, they see that he is almost harmless, as in almost. He is a very handsome man, his black hair, tanned skin and ocean blue eyes being the main reason; even his dark beard, which one would consider a mixture between a manicured scruff and the door knocker, adds to his already very sexy and very manly appearance. Mikhail does not get angered very fast but it will be wise to stay on the good side of this large man as he will not hesitate in introducing his brute force upon someone’s body.

Mikhail oversees all operations in the Czech Republic, handles all of the arson planning, handles all of the contract killing and prostitution with Brooklyn, and handles the Netherlands operations alongside Ming-Ming Rivanski. He resides in Prague, and occasionally travels to Netherland and Russia for business but that is only every two months.

The crimes that take place in the Czech Republic are drug running and trafficking, prostitution, illegal gambling, contract killing, cybercrimes, arson, motor vehicle theft and finally gun running and trafficking. He is a qualified fire fighter, but had joined the mob when he was 23 after he started to get bored with his regular job. He quickly proved himself to Kai, and that is why Kai had placed him in charge of arson three years ago seeing as Mikhail is good with fires. Mikhail is not married, but currently has a girlfriend of almost a year now, but he has no plans to get married anytime soon. He also reports to Tala and Ray about everything.

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Two very well dressed women are currently standing in front of a huge warehouse on the outskirts of Budapest. A brown haired woman whose hair reaches her shoulders and a woman with sleek long hair that looks silver coloured with the tips of her hair being black that reaches just above her hip line.

Hilary Utkin, the brown haired woman, and Valerie Zorskia, are currently waiting for a truck that needs to arrive shortly that contains various people, mostly women.

The people that usually arrive in these trucks are usually taken from very poor communities, with the promise that their lives will be bettered which is not always the case. The women are mostly sold into prostitution and are transported to where ever they are needed, and they are also placed in various categories.

Valerie, a 4th year medical year student at the medical university in Budapest, is the one that usually checks the younger women to see who are still virgins and who are not. The virgins are usually sold for the highest prices at secret organised functions where rich men buy them at the highest bidder, and then take the virgins as their personal sex slaves; those that are not virgins are either employed to work on the streets, or as escorts that can be booked over the internet, depending on their looks. If Hilary and Valerie decide that a certain woman can be transformed into a sex bomb, she will not work on the streets, but instead will be entertaining very important business men at various gentlemen’s clubs at a very costly price. Those that are to work on the streets are unfortunately the least lucky of them all as the conditions that they work in are horrible, and many have already died due to their unfortunate occupation.

Kids are also arriving in these trucks, mostly babies, which are sold to people who wants children, whether it is to take care of them or not, it does not really matter to Hilary or Valerie; all they care about is making money. The men that arrive in the trucks are either employed in the mob, or is employed to do hard labour, it also does not really matter, but at least they do not have it as bad as the women, although, there have been cases where if a man looks very handsome, he is also recruited in the prostitute business where he must entertain both men and women.

Just then, the truck that they have anxiously been waiting for finally makes its appearance.

“Finally, I have been wondering what is taking this bloody truck so long; I really hope we have a good looking guy in there which I can buy for myself this time.”

“Are you serious, Hils?”

“Of course, Val; I think it is unfair that everyone always gets to have the good stuff, and not me; I also have cravings, you know, woman cravings,” Hilary says with a wicked gleam in her eye.

Valerie just shakes her head while laughing at her friend and co-worker.

The truck pulls into the huge warehouse, the two women following. They open the door and can immediately smell that the people have been in there for some time now.

“Get out, people, and hurry!” Valerie instructs them all in a very stern and demanding voice.

The two women watch at how the people start getting out one by one, the two truck drivers joining the two women. When everyone is out, Hilary and Valerie start to separate the people.

After everyone has been placed into their various categories, they will be washed and cleaned, and then Valerie will do her inspection; after that is done, they all will be sent to their various locations where are they are to work from now on.

Hilary Utkin is 26 years old, born in Tokyo, Japan, and is a very good chartered accountant. She had met Kai when she was 20 and he 19, and it was at the university where both of them were studying. They had met at a party one night, but they did not sleep together; Kai had asked her some advice and then when he saw how good she was with numbers, he offered her a job at his company, but soon Kai realised that Hilary will be much more beneficial for the mob, and luckily for him, she already had a very hard attitude, perfect for working in the mob. She accepted the job immediately, and from then on she has proved her worth to the mob, and as the saying goes, the rest is history. She has been in her current position for four years now, and does not see herself doing anything else any time soon.

Hilary oversees all human traffic operations in Russia, Hungary, France and Slovakia; she resides in Moscow so she also travels a lot; she also handles the drug trafficking and running in Hungary, France and Slovakia, and she reports only to Tala. She is currently engaged, although her fiancé does not know about her connections with The Chernyy Feniks mob; he thinks all of her travelling is because of her job at Hiwatari Enterprises, which is not entirely a complete lie. Hilary is very stubborn and knows what she wants, and she will do anything to get her way, and she also has very little compassion for another human being and will not think twice about unleashing her horrible temper onto an innocent person; her temper also makes up for her height which is only 5’4.

Valerie Zorskia is 25 years of age and is currently a medical student. She had met Kai when both were in their first year at university, but at that time she was living in Moscow and had tried to go into the business world but had found it too boring after two years of taking the course.

She and Kai get along very well, mostly thanks to the strong sexual attraction that is between the two. The two have hooked up a lot in the past, and they still hook up whenever they are in the same city. Kai had liked her bad girl attitude and had also recruited her into the mob four years ago, and she was all too happy to move out of Russia, seeing it as a new beginning in her life, a new chapter.

Valerie is a very attractive woman at 5’8, and she just oozes sex appeal. With her silver coloured long hair and her very deep dark blue eyes, she can get anything with just her looks alone. Valerie oversees all operations in Hungary which includes: illegal gambling, drug running and trafficking, prostitution, vehicle theft, human trafficking and cybercrimes, and she reports to Ray mostly.

Valerie is single at the moment, but she is always up for a good time. Many of her co-workers admire her for studying medicine and working full time for the mob, something only a few will ever be able to pull off. Valerie is your average bad girl; she is into parties, bikes, cars, and anything illegal and dangerous; her personality lets a person know very early on that she is not a patient person, and she has a very foul temper; she also has an obsession with combat knives and has a collection that contains almost 200 different knives.

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Paris, the capital city of France, the city of love as many believe, with its warm and old atmosphere, walking through the streets at night just brings a calm and relaxing feeling over one; it is also seen as the fashion capital of the world by many as there are so many different designers in Paris, along with the gorgeous models and various fashion shows, one would think that no bad can take place in such a happy and warm city, but everyone just sees what is happening on the surface, and not in the deeper and darker places of the beautiful French city. Overall, France has many bad people walking around, Paris being the main area for these kinds of people.

When one takes a walk in the bad parts of Paris, one can find drug dealers, people selling other people, prostitutes, all types of bad people, and it is in these dark and dangerous places where a certain 24 year old man thrives. The main activities going on in France, mostly in Paris, include drug running and trafficking, gun running and trafficking, prostitution, illegal gambling, human trafficking, cybercrimes and contract killing.

Garland Kovsky is the man that is in charge of all of The Chernyy Feniks’ affairs in France and who also handles all of the cybercrimes seeing as he is an absolute genius when it comes to computers and all types of technology. He reports to Tala about all of the different happenings, and he is also a very skilled fighter, coming from a line of family where all members are prestigious in a certain sport, whether it is tennis, car racing, or whatever, and they all excel in their various fields; Garland is no different and his body shows his absolute dedication to his sport.

He and Kai usually fight each other whenever they gather in Moscow at the Feniks manor, both men always ending up in a tie as both are equally matched in fighting. He is not the tallest of guys, only standing at 5’8, much shorter than his co-workers, but his skills and rock hard toned muscles along with his attitude, makes up for his lack of length against the other men in The Chernyy Feniks mob. He is what one can consider average good looking, having blue eyes and sleek silver hair that reaches the middle of his back which he always keeps neatly tied up in a pony tail. Garland is not seeing anyone as he is too busy with his work and he does not have time for any type of romance, and luckily for him, he is not in love with sex as his boss and he can go without it for months, and he will not worry about his lack of action in the bedroom department.

Garland is also considered cruel but he does not go out of his way to torture a person; he might give them a good beating and then kill them but he does not burn or cut them like Kai’s many victims, but at least the people that works under Garland fears and respects him enough to know not to mess with him. Garland and Kai had met each other in their younger teens when both were fighting in the martial arts world tournament and as expected, their love for the sport had assured them a long and strong friendship. Garland were at first very hesitant about joining the mob because his family had raised him with loyalty and morals, but after getting a taste of the power, he was hooked, and from the age of 21 he has been in charge of the affairs in France.

In Bratislava, Slovakia, it is slightly a different story and Slovakia is the territory of The Chernyy Feinks that is being led by a very petit woman, 5’1 to be exact, an azure hair coloured woman that goes by the name of Ming-Ming Rivanski. She has known Kai the longest, since they were five and six years old, because Ming-Ming’s grandfather was in charge of the Slovakia territory at the time in Voltaire’s reign, so both have grown up being exposed to the cruel and harsh world of organised crime, and just like Kai, she has found a liking in the crime at a very young age.

Her grandfather had passed away about two years before Voltaire’s death and after his death, someone else was put in charge of Slovakia, but the moment Kai had taken over the mob, Ming-Ming had been placed in charge of the territory, and with excellent results. The criminal activities in Slovakia are drug running and trafficking, illegal gambling, human trafficking, money laundering, contract killing, motor vehicle theft, gun running ad trafficking. Just like Hilary, Ming-Ming is also excellent in working with numbers and sometimes helps both Tala and Kai whenever they get stuck with the finances of The Chernyy Feniks.

Many underestimate the petit woman and think that they can dominate her, but what they don’t know is that she has been personally trained by Kai, and that she can defend herself very adequately, surprising many people with her fighting skills. She is married, has been for the last five months, but she has no intention of having children anytime soon; her husband works beside her in the mob, and he is the one that punishes the people that has done something wrong against the mob.

Ming-Ming and Kai talk regular over e-mail seeing as they have been friends for years and Ming-Ming knows by now that Kai would much rather have a conversation this way then actually talking over the phone. She also has no intention of quitting the mob anytime soon, even if it should happen that she falls pregnant by accident. The Chernyy Feniks is all that she has ever known, and she cannot see herself doing anything else and neither does she want to do anything else.

Ming-Ming and Mikhail are also in charge of affairs in Netherlands but it is only drug running and trafficking that is being done there as Netherland has all the main drug manufacturing factories of The Chernyy Feniks. The people in charge in Netherland have been personally selected by Ming-Ming and Mikhail, and Kai trusts their judgement because there has not been any trouble up until now, although they have only been in control of the area for the last four years now. Netherland is also the main drug point of drugs being transported over international waters and usually either Mikhail or Ming-Ming are present whenever a shipment is sent off, sometimes even both are present, depending on whether their schedules allow it or not.

All the people that have been placed in charge of various activities and territories all respect Kai, and he respects them all. They all work very well together because each and every one of them knows their responsibilities and what is expected of them, this just adding to the ever increasing power and success of The Chernyy Feniks, and although Kai does not say it verbally, they all know that he appreciates all that they are doing for him because were it not for these few people that he trusts so much, the mob would most probably not have survived this long, much less would have become more powerful than in the time of Voltaire’s reign. They all know that if the mob succeeds, they too succeed; they are family after all, and family always looks out for each other’s needs and always sticks together, no matter what.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – murder is the only way

The weather in Moscow is dark, despite it being daytime. Dark clouds are shielding the city from the beautiful, warm and bright rays from the sun, the heavy dark clouds mirroring the cursed words of many who is not in the mood for this morbid weather today, and even the light snow that is accompanying the dark clouds is making the weather even worse, worsening the already morbid and murky mood of so many. Many are already wishing the winter season gone, but unfortunately they will have to wait for another three months before that happens.

Somewhere in a graveyard a certain young blonde haired woman is not bothered at all with the weather; to her it makes no difference because whether the sun is shining or whether the sky is covered with dark and gloomy clouds, she already feels dark and morbid on the inside, so a few dark clouds won’t make any difference to her.

Anastasia is standing in front of three graves, the tomb stones of her parents and brother mocking her in a way; she is clutching three blood red roses within her hands which she wants to place onto their graves. The cold has no effect on her, despite her nose being all red and runny from the cold; even her hands are icy cold, but Anastasia does not care, for she is already numb on the inside, and she might as well be numb on the outside also.

“I miss you guys so much, you have no idea how much it hurts knowing that I will never be able to hear your voices or give you all a hug. Mama, I will never get to taste your top of the class food ever again, the food that sometimes looked so strange and so horrid, almost disgusting, but once you take one bite of it, it was like a mini festival in one’s mouth. I will never be able to feel your motherly embrace whenever I feel a little blue, nor hear your motherly voice whenever I feel that the world is getting too much for me with my little and typical young woman’s issues; you always knew how to cheer me up and how to listen to me. What am I going to do now, now that you have been taken away from me so soon? Who is going to cheer me up and treat me like a little girl once more when I need it? Who is going to give me that motherly love that I sometimes need so desperately? I am without a mother, my one of a kind mother, and that alone is enough to make me want to drive off of a cliff, but I know that _that_ is the last thing you ever would have wanted. I can already hear you scold me, saying that you did not raise me like that, but don’t worry, mama, I will not drive myself off of a cliff, you have my word,” a small gentle, yet sad, smile graces Anastasia’s features, but soon enough it disappears.

Anastasia kneels down before her mother’s grave, placing one of the roses in front of her mother’s tomb stone, as the tears fall freely from her eyes. She rises up, and then moves on to the next grave.

The next grave she places a rose upon, is that of her father, “Papa, a girl needs her father in her life to keep her strong, to comfort her in a way her mother cannot, to walk her down the aisle one day, giving away his daughter, but also letting the whole world know that she is still his little girl. I need you, Papa, I need you to carry me through this horrible ordeal and I need your advice so much right now, your guidance. I don’t know what to do, which way to go on this treacherous road that is lying in front of me right now. My soul feels like it is all torn up, and that the pieces have been scattered all around, making it impossible for me to gather all of the pieces and to make it whole again, and even if I did manage to find all of the pieces, the three most important pieces are missing, and no matter what I do, I will never be able to get them back.”

Anastasia starts to sob as she reads her father’s name, IVAN GREKOV – LOVING FATHER, SON, HUSBAND, FAMILY MEMEBER AND FRIEND’.

“You were really all of that, Papa, and so much more.”

Anastasia remains standing in front of her father’s grave for a while longer before she finally moves on to the last grave, that of her brother, Vladimir Grekov.

“My dear, sweet and loving big brother, there simply aren’t any words to describe how much I miss you right now; you were not just my brother, you were my best friend. Someone with whom I can have a good laugh, but also someone on whose shoulder I could cry on whenever I felt like being a little melodramatic. I have lost my fun-buddy, my confidant, my hero and my role model. You were always trying to make the world a better place, no matter what it took. You did not have an ounce of fear within you, you were more courageous than any action movie star could ever be; you showed and learned me so much about life, things that our parents just did not understand. Oh Vladimir,” Anastasia’s legs suddenly could no longer hold her weight, and she just collapsed onto her knees, digging her hands into the mud, her body being attacked by uncontrollable sobs. Her head is hung low as her tears fall to the ground, her cries being heard echoing throughout the cemetery.

‘When losing a loved one to death, one really is inconsolable. All one can constantly think about is that it has to be a dream, that this just can’t be real. Why do I have to go through this horrible tragedy, how will I ever be able to smile again? How will I ever stop crying over this horrible loss? I wish it were me instead of them, so that I could have been spared these feelings that is suffocating me; it is hurting my throat, my chest is in so much pain, I am sure not even a heart attack hurts this much. I am nauseous, in shock and my mind cannot think clearly. Won’t it just be better if I just go lie down somewhere and wait for death to come and claim me, because I will not be able to go through an entire lifetime feeling this soul shattering and heart wrenching pain.

No one deserves to go through this pain, it is just humanly impossible to get over these emotions. Breathing has become so difficult for me; my throat feeling cold and raw, almost like I have swallowed a huge stone and it got stuck within my throat. My eyes are burning, but the tears won’t stop falling, my voice unable to mutter even a single word. What is the use of living if one has to go through this torment; it really is not worth it. The constant question of why? Why me, why them? Why now? Why could not all of us have been taken together so that everyone would have been saved from these dark and destructive hurtful feelings? There is no coming back from the dead, there is no way in turning back the time, there was not even time to say good bye for one last time. It all just happened so sudden. Watching the coffin being lowered into the ground, that cold emotionless dark hole, feeling like the hole in the ground is tormenting me, reminding me that it is final, and that there is no going back. Death had claimed them for itself and it is never going to let them go, never again. I will never get to hear my family’s voices, feel their embraces, never again. How will I ever be able to feel any type of happiness when my reason for being happy has been ripped from soul, not even a warning of the horrible coming separation?’

Anastasia’s cries are enough to send anyone into a teary frenzy, her loss and pain clearly being felt through her cries. Not only has the poor young woman lost her parents and her brother, but she has also lost two friends already, two new friends that she has managed to make through this horrible tragedy, but before she could even have a chance to get to know them better, they were also just ripped from her life, and she doubts that she will be able to handle another loss, unable to handle another death of someone that she has considered a part of her life. One can only take so much death and loss until one decides that enough is enough, and no more pain.

It is already two weeks since Yuri’s body had been discovered. After Anastasia and Yuri had met at the coffee shop right after he had paid Kai a visit, Anastasia had been having trouble in reaching him. After three days had passed without hearing anything from the detective, she had gone to his offices. They had told her that his body had been discovered a couple of hours ago that very same day. It had looked like he had been in a car accident and it also looked like a piece of the shattered glass had managed to slit his throat. Anastasia just knew that this was not true, that the accident had been a cover up for what had really happened. She just knew that Kai was behind this whole thing, that the businessman had gotten pissed at Yuri for knowing the truth, and that is why he had gotten rid of the detective; Hiwatari wanted his tracks covered, and yet again, he had succeeded in doing so.

Anastasia felt completely helpless after hearing about Yuri because now there really is no one that she can turn to about what had been done to her family, and since the death of Yuri, it has left the young woman with a constant internal battle on whether she should just leave it and let the real murderer get away, or whether she should take the matter into her own hands, by trying to get justice on Hiwatari in her own way without following the law.

The fact that she has no knowledge on how to use guns or even on how to defend herself, puts her at a great disadvantage, and there is no way she will ever be able to go up against a man, much less the man that is in charge of the most feared mob in all of Russia. No one else will believe her, and anyway, she does not want to put another innocent person in danger just because she does not want the real killer to walk around freely.

After Anastasia could cry no more, she finally composes herself and places the last remaining rose onto Vladimir’s grave.

‘It was needed to come here, thanks, you guys. We may not be together anymore, but at least I know that you three are still looking after me, and now that my head is clear, I can think more like a sane human being, instead of thinking like a scorned person. I think I know what to do now; I will start following Hiwatari, learn his routines of his everyday life, and after I have gathered enough information, I will make my move. Yes, that is exactly what I will do. I will obtain a gun which I will carry with me at all times and when the perfect opportunity presents itself, I will pull the trigger, bringing that heartless human to justice in my own way, making him pay for every innocent life that he has ever taken, especially the lives of my family. That is my only goal in life right now: to make Kai Hiwatari pay!’

Anastasia looks down at the graves of her loved ones for one last time, and then turns around, her eyes no longer showing the sadness, but instead shows the new found determination, the determination to bring Kai Hiwatari down, with any means necessary.

‘I will put a bullet into you, Kai Hiwatari, mark my words. I will be the death of you’.

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It is Saturday evening, dusk to be more exact, and Kai is just sitting on the balcony of his room, a cigarette in one hand, the other hand gently stroking the head of his male cat, Tiger, who is resting on his lap, and beside Kai on the small patio glass table is a glass of vodka which he casually sips from every now and then. Kai’s female cat, Iris, is sitting on the balcony just watching the night life come to life right in front of her eyes, her tail movements clearly showing that she is finding something very interesting. It is cold but Kai does not care, the coldness somehow brings a certain sense of serenity of him, his two cats just adding to the serene atmosphere.

Kai loves his two cats very much, and both cats are unique in their own way, both being Siamese cats, and both also having their very own unique personality. Tiger and Iris are brother and sister, and Kai had gotten them when they were only a few weeks old, and from very early on, Kai could already see who was going to be a house cat, and who was not.

Tiger is a house cat through and through, always making sure that he is in the presence of his human parent. Every morning when Kai gets up, Tiger follows him to the bathroom where the cat just talks to Kai the entire time, in his own cat language; Tiger does not like to be picked up, but he likes it to be close to Kai and to rest on Kai’s lap whenever Kai is sitting or lying down somewhere.

Iris is the cat that loves the outside world and she is a real flirt, always rubbing herself up against everyone. Iris loves to be held in the arms whenever Kai is in the vicinity, and she likes to sleep in his arms, her head resting on his pillow, just like a human. She too likes to talk to Kai in her own cat language, but she does it when she is awake during the day, not like her sibling – early in the morning.

Both cats are very fond of Kai and they always know when he is about to leave for a trip and whenever he starts packing his bags, both cats jump on to the suitcases, making it difficult for Kai to continue with his packing. Whenever Kai returns from a trip, they run to him and greet him like a dog would do, the two cats just talking, or more like meowing, constantly to Kai. Kai knows by now that when he leaves, his cats hardly eat and just lie on his bed the entire time, the two missing their human, and although Kai wants to take them along every time he has to leave, he does not want to risk their safety in another city or country. His cats are really very deep within his heart, probably the only two living things that Kai can actually say he has genuine feelings for, well maybe except for Tala, Alisia, Ralph and Oksana, and a few other employees at his company and within the mob.

Ralph and Oksana Belkin are the eldest employees at the Hiwatari manor, Ralph being Kai’s butler, and Oksana being the head of staff at the Hiwatari manor and also the wife of Ralph. Both have been at the Hiwatari Manor since Voltaire’s days, Ralph and Oksana being the closest thing that Kai has had to parents. Kai calls his butler, Papa Ralph, and Oksana is Mama Oksana, and Kai has the world’s respect for the two elders, both of them being in their early sixties now.

The two had practically raised Kai along with Voltaire, but neither of them could stop the power hungry developments within Kai and they just had to stand by and watch as the young child got corrupted more and more every day, it breaking Oksana’s heart the most. Luckily for both of the elders, neither of them has ever seen Kai kill someone, and they both would like to keep it that way, although they both are very much aware of Kai’s ruthlessness.

Ralph and Oksana have children of their own, but they are all grown up with kids of their own, and Kai allows Ralph and Oksana to go and visit them regularly. Kai may be cold and cruel most of the time, but when it comes to the Belkin couple, he acts like a normal human being with actual feelings. Kai always knows that he can the leave the Hiwatari manor with an eased mind and heart, knowing that it will be taken care of, and more importantly, he knows that his two cats are being left in good hands and that they will be taken very good care of.

Kai continues sitting on his balcony until Oksana quietly comes to him to see whether he needs anything, and also to see to it that he has not frozen to death yet.

“Are you okay, young Kai?”

Kai only replies with a single nod. Oksana comes to stand next to Kai, to see what he is looking at, seeing only the beauty of the estate in front of them.

“Well, night, my boy, and please don’t sit here all night until you can’t feel your legs anymore.”

Oksana places a kiss on Kai’s head before turning around to go back inside, but Kai abruptly stops her before she can leave, “Mama Oksana, whatever happened to Mina?”

Kai just smirks when he hears the elder woman groan, knowing exactly why she had just done that.

“I never found out what your grandfather did with that child molester, and to be honest, I do not care, but let’s leave that in the past. Night, Kai.”

“Night, Mama Oksana.”

Kai likes to pester Oksana with that name, Mina.

Mina, the tutor that Kai had gotten when he was only 11 years, the tutor that had taught him Spanish and Japanese, and also the woman that had taken Kai’s innocence, despite being 16 years his senior at the time. Kai will never forget Mina because she is the reason he is so in love with sex today. She had taught him so much, teaching him all she knows and it was a lot that she had known, seeing as she has been with quite a number of men before she came to work for Voltaire Hiwatari.

FLASHBACK

Kai was 11 years old, still a very innocent and shy boy. His tutor, Mina, has been with them a month already and Kai has come to like this lady, because she was very friendly and very pretty for the 11 year old boy. She had coloured her hair to a violet colour, something any child will find very interesting. Her hair was a mixture between curly and sleek and her eyes were a green hazel colour, along with the most luscious lips that any woman can have, although Kai had no idea that lips like those are considered very attractive on a woman.

It was a summer afternoon and both were in the study at the Hiwatari manor, busy with Spanish. Kai had to write out a few sentences and Mina just watched the boy, finding him very attractive; she was smitten with the boy from the very first day that Voltaire had introduced her to his grandson. Kai had finished his sentences and after checking them and seeing that they were correct, Mina told the young Kai that they have finished their work for the day, despite there still being about two hours left of the session.

“Kai, do you want to play a game?”

“What kind of game, Miss Mina?”

“Well, it is an educational game; I am going to teach you a few things that you will never learn anywhere else, but you have to promise me that you will not tell anyone about our little game.”

Kai did not find this strange at all, but rather very exciting that the two of them are going to play a secret game, “I promise, Miss Mina.”

“Good boy, but we are going to play the game in your room, alright?”

Kai nodded and then followed Mina obediently up to his bedroom, not noticing the mischievous look and smirk on her face, while she cautiously looked around to see whether any of the staff were looking as she was leading the boy up to his room.

When they entered the room, Mina quietly locked the door and then instructed Kai to go and sit on his bed, which the boy did very obediently. Mina made her way towards the boy, hardly being able to contain her excitement as she made her way towards the young boy.

“Kai, have you ever let a girl touch you here,” she asked as she placed her hand right on his crotch area.

Kai’s eyes widened when she did this and he shook his head from side to side, but did not tell her to remove her hand from his private area.

“Grandpa and Mama Oksana said that this area is very private and that it is only meant for me, and that no one else is allowed to touch me there; why are you touching me there, Miss Mina?”

Mina pretended to give Kai a very innocent smile, but she said nothing. Instead, she stepped away from Kai about a foot, and then lifted up her shirt over her head and then tossed it onto his bed, leaving Mina to only stand in her bra and skirt. She told Kai to stand up and to come stand in front of her, and at 11 years of age, Kai was already a tall boy, already standing at 5’3, almost as tall as Mina. She took his hands and placed them on her breasts, her hands covering his, and gave both of her breasts a squeeze.

“How does it feel, Kai?”

“They feel very soft; I like it.”

Still Kai had no idea of what was going on, but soon enough he found out exactly what Mina was doing with him because soon enough, he was sitting on the bed once more with his trousers and underwear pulled down, Mina taking advantage of the boy by sucking him, which the young boy enjoyed more than he was suppose to. Kai had no idea what the white stuff was that had shot into her mouth, and neither did he understand the incredible feeling that he had experienced when the white stuff shot out of him. Mina told him that she would tell him after they are done with the game, Mina still having a few things planned for the boy. Mina was very surprised at how blessed Kai was at that young age, enjoying the whole experience even more.

That afternoon was the afternoon when Kai had experienced a lot of things for the first time, things like touching a woman’s breasts for the first time, getting his first blowjob, his first time that he placed his fingers inside of a woman, the first time he felt how it feels like to wear a condom, and also the first time that he had sex, losing his virginity to a woman of 27 years. Mina took charge of everything, guiding Kai through it all and she was very happy with herself after it all, not caring that she had actually just molested an 11 year old boy, but by the look on Kai’s face, he had enjoyed the whole experience just as much as she had.

And that was just the beginning. That little affair of them had lasted for more than three years, Kai becoming an expert in the sex department, all thanks to the innocent looking tutor, Miss Mina. It did not take long for the roles to switch; Mina had always been the dominant one, but by the time Kai had reached the age of 14, she was putty in his hands.

Kai had reached a growth spurt at the age of 13, everything of him changing into that of a grown man. His voice got deeper, his muscles developed, and thanks to his vigorous exercise regime that his grandfather had put him through, Kai was built very muscular, his height towering over that off Mina. The tutor just could not get enough of Kai, enjoying his body every time they were together, and Kai also did not complain.

Mina was contracted to teach Kai four days a week, the two always ensuring that they end up having sex after each tutoring session, always making sure that no one was around. Sometimes they would end up in his room, other times Kai could not wait that long and he would take her right there in the study, on top of the desk or against the wall; other times Mina would take up her role as the one in charge, just letting Kai sit on one of the comfortable couches and she would move her hips expertly against the young teenager, Kai sucking on her breasts the entire time until he would whimper like a small boy as Mina made him come.

Mina had taught Kai that no matter how desperate or horny he is, that he should never ever do it without protection, because one moment of weakness is not worth a lifetime of misery, and the two never did it without protection; she also taught him to never do it when he is drunk because mistakes are also born from that drunkenness. Well, that lesson did not really stick with Kai because he finds sex with alcohol and cocaine in his system very exhilarating at times, although he does have sex most of the time sober.

No one had ever suspected anything, that was, until one afternoon when Voltaire had unexpectedly returned home early from work. He had expected to find Kai and Mina in the study but when he saw that it was empty, he started to look around. When he reached Kai’s room, he could hear noises through the door, and it was noises that he did not want to hear. Voltaire silently opened the door to his grandson’s room, and what he saw after opening the door, almost gave him a heart attack.

There was his grandson, naked, and with a woman, a woman that he had entrusted to his grandson, Mina moaning like a porn star as Kai thrust into her over and over again. Mina was lying on her back, Kai holding her legs by her ankles with her legs midway in the air, her legs bent at the knees and her legs wide open as Kai was standing on his knees, slamming hard into her if one can go by the sound of the hard skin on skin impact. Mina was clutching her right breast, her other hand pressing against the headboard, her head pressed back into the pillow with her chest area slightly arched upwards. Mina started to moan louder and louder, while informing Kai that she is about to come.

“Come for me, Mina,” is all Kai said with a self satisfactory smirk on his face.

Voltaire could not take any more of these vile happenings before him. He was filled with rage and he made it known the moment he yelled out ‘What the hell is going on here?!’

Both occupants on the bed stopped with their actions, both going ice cold upon seeing Voltaire standing right there; Mina got frightened because she knew that she could end up in jail for having sex with a minor; Kai got a fright because of what his grandfather had always told him about intimacy. 

Voltaire had always told Kai that he should not get intimate with a woman until he is at least 21 so that he can have the right set of mind when he takes that big step, but thanks to Mina, that had happened 10 years prior to it. Voltaire was shaking with rage and then he started to yell for Oksana, the woman rushing in to the room, and when she saw the scene in front of her, she screamed out of fright and shock.

Kai was still in his same position, holding Mina’s ankles in the air.

“I suggest you get off of her now, Kai.”

“Some privacy, please grandfather.”

“I will not! I will not turn my back on you two for even a second, now get off of her, now!”

Kai felt like dying right there out of pure embarrassment because he had to remove himself from Mina in front of his grandfather and Oksana, and as if that was not bad enough, he also had to remove the condom in front of his grandfather and Oksana. Kai quickly put on his pants as Mina also got off of the bed, she quickly gathering all of her clothes and getting dressed in record time. When she was dressed, Voltaire practically dragged her from the manor, not mentioning to anyone where he was going. He just instructed Kai to wait in the study until he gets back so that they can have a serious talk.

The rest of that day did not go down smoothly. When Voltaire had returned, he gave Kai the scolding of his life, Kai being afraid of his grandfather for the very first time in his life, but unfortunately, the damage had already been done. Voltaire had asked Kai for how long it had been going on, and Kai was almost certain that his grandfather was about to have a stroke when Kai had told him for about three years now. Voltaire tried to remind Kai of the morals that he was taught, but it was too late; Kai wanted more and more sex, not caring where he got it from, but the older he got, the more he realised that it is much better to keep a woman around for a certain amount of time, four weeks being the maximum to keep one by his side, and since then, Kai did not opt for one night stands. He also never forgot what Mina had taught him, thanking her silently about the world that she has opened up to him, a world that he enjoys very much, and that he will most probably enjoy until the day he draws his last breath.

END OF FLASHBACK

Kai was always such a good and well mannered boy, but thanks to Mina, that sweet and innocent boy slowly started to fade away, slowly being replaced with a manipulating, corruptive bad boy; the final death punch came when Voltaire had introduced Kai to the world of organised crime, and that was the day that the good Kai had died for good, completely being replaced with the dark Kai, and the older Kai got, the more dangerous he became, and he is still getting more and more ruthless by the day.

Kai just smirks at the memories, ‘What a fun time it was; no doubt Mina was killed that very same day, and although I am not sad, it would have been fun to have had her around for a little while longer, maybe up until I was 16 or older, but that’s in the past; there are many others to choose from; many, many more.’

Kai will never forget Mina because she had really taught him so much, and he will always be grateful for that, not even caring that she took advantage of him at such a young age; he reckoned the younger, the better. In the eyes of the world it is seen as molestation, but not in the eyes of Kai; he had enjoyed it way too much to think that it might have been a bad thing.

Kai remains sitting on the balcony until the temperature drops some more, before he finally decides to gather his things and then to head back inside, hopefully going straight to bed.

He can feel that his body is in need of a good night’s rest, so with his two cats with him, Kai snuggles comfortably in his bed, falling asleep very fast and sleeping like a person that has no worries in the world, which is true in Kai’s case, because he does not have the conscious to feel guilty about anything.

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“What type of clothes should I pack?”

“Clothes for summer, love.”

“Swimwear?”

“Yes, love.”

“Evening wear?”

“If we must, we can buy a dress or two there.”

“How about this?”

Tala lowers his magazine only to choke to see what his wife is holding – a very skimpy black and purple lingerie night dress, leaving almost nothing to the imagination.

“When did you get that, and more importantly, how come you have never wore it for me?”

Tala’s blonde haired wife just chuckles at her husband’s surprised reaction, “I bought it Friday morning, and I just haven’t found the right moment to model it for you.”

“You really are a very cruel woman, my love.”

“Oh cry me a river, Ivanov; but anyway, should I also pack it?”

“Hell no woman! Forget the packing! I want you to put it on right this minute.”

“Just so that you can take it off within a blink of an eye? I don’t think so.”

“Oh come on, you can’t dangle a piece of steak in front of a lion and expect it to stay calm about the whole situation.”

“Are you seriously comparing yourself to a lion?”

“Yeah, of course; I’m your lion, and also a lion in bed.”

Alisia just gives a sarcastic laugh, Tala not finding it funny at all and just pouts like a little boy.

“Ah, did I hurt my poor baby’s feelings?” Alisia asks in a mocking and joking manner.

“Just continue with the packing, woman.”

Tala gets up from the bed to go down stairs, but is abruptly stopped by his wife’s tone change when she calls his surname out loud, that never being a good sign; however, he does not face her and remains standing with his back facing her.

“Yes, love?”

“Call me woman one more time and we will see who will end up being the real woman in this house, understood, Ivanov?”

“Yes, love, and I am very sorry, love.”

“Whatever; go make yourself productive and make sure our passports are ready for when we leave tomorrow morning, and also while you are at it, make me a cup of tea, please.”

“Yes, love, as you wish, love.”

“Oh and, Ivanov, if you are a good boy, you might be able to remove that little outfit from my body later tonight, very slowly and sensually.”

Tala just turns around and gives his wife a million dollar smile, Alisia not resisting the urge to make a very sarcastic comment at her husband’s horniness, “Is your teeth getting hot or what, why are you showing me your teeth?” and she just smirks when she sees how her husband’s smile disappears in record time, leaving him mumbling some incoherent and colourful words as he makes his way out of the door.

Alisia Ivanov is Tala’s wife, and has been the last of a couple of months, but she has been his love interest since they were both 15.

She is currently busy packing her and Tala’s clothes because they have to leave for Columbia tomorrow because Kai wants to start with the building of the factories as fast as possible, mostly because of the cocaine that they want to start producing. Tala has to be there seeing as he is second in command, and Kai appreciates Tala’s input; Alisia is joining them because since they were together in high school, Kai and Alisia have always had a love-hate relationship, the two of them acting like siblings because they are always bickering and making snide remarks to each other, but it is all innocent fun. Kai and Alisia are very close, sometimes even closer than Kai and Tala, and Kai would also like to hear her input about the factories. Alisia does not mind that her husband is a mobster, she finds it very sexy and she too has already had some experience in the mob business, sorting out a few females that have crossed her and that have rubbed her up the wrong way.

With her blonde hair and icy blue eyes like her husband, one would take Alisia as a calm and peaceful woman, which is the complete opposite. Alisia is not afraid to speak her mind, no matter who gets stung by her tongue and she is not afraid of anyone. Tala loves to call her his loony wife, and she does not mind it that he calls her that because she has admitted on a lot of occasions that it is the truth, and she finds it very cute that he refers to her as his loony wife.

It is Sunday night and Alisia still has to pack so much seeing as they will be in Colombia for two weeks. Kai has also mentioned to them that they might stay over in Hawaii for two or three days because Kai is thinking of buying some property on one of the islands, but he first wants to go and check it out. The three friends will be leaving with Kai’s private jet, one of four that the young Hiwatari has. One is for Tala’s use, one is for Hiwatari Enterprises, one is for The Chernyy Feniks mob and one is just for luxury. Kai also has a helicopter which he uses when he flies to and from his company building, seeing as the young man wants to avoid the traffic most of the time.

Tala and Alisia do not have any plans for kids right now, but they want to have at least two children in the future, it does not matter which sexes they will be, as long as they have two children.

It is winter time in the northern hemisphere, so luckily for the three friends they will be travelling to a warmer climate, and Alisia cannot wait; despite being born in Russia, she has always preferred the summer before the winter, and whenever she and Tala goes on a holiday, she always insists that they go to a place where the weather is perfect; however, as much as she loves the summer, she will never exchange her native country for any other place in the world.

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Somewhere else in Moscow in a penthouse, the only illumination throughout the entire penthouse is coming from a computer screen; metal music can be heard over the speakers, that also being the only sound in the entire penthouse. A photo of Kai Hiwatari is lying on top of a table next to a computer, two kitchen knives placed right through his eyes and his whole face is smeared with a crimson substance, a substance that looks a lot like blood. The occupant of the house is sitting outside on the balcony, her lips already blue from the icy cold weather, but it does not look like it is bothering her. Anastasia’s right hand is bandaged where she had accidently cut herself earlier when she had stabbed the photo of Kai that she had printed out.

Her entire being is filled with hate, a hate so strong that she never thought that it will ever be humanly possible to feel these strong emotions towards another person, a person she has never even met before, a person that her heart desires to kill, a person she desires to look straight in the eye as she pulls the trigger, killing him for what he has done to her. Anastasia cannot think of anything else except getting to Kai and killing him. Since she has left the graves of her family the previous day, she has been thinking of various ways of how to get to Kai. First, she wants to start following him for maybe two or three weeks, to figure out what is his routine. Then, if he has a certain place that he visits regularly, she will also start visiting the place, just to get familiar with the area. And when the time is right, she will get a disguise and then start making friends with Hiwatari by meeting him at the regular hang out place.

After some time, she will make sure that the two of them get to spend some time alone, away from civilisation, and that is when she will strike, killing him and leaving his body for the wild animals to devour, that is just one way of getting to him. The other involves Anastasia going to his company after scheduling an appointment with him, and then kill him inside of his own office, but she is not sure about that one seeing as there will be cameras that will capture her doing it, and she is not really fond of the idea of ending up in jail for the murder of the man that had killed her family.

No matter what situation she thinks of, it always ends up with her shooting him right between his eyes, splattering Kai’s brains all over the place, but before she can shoot the bastard, she first has to get a gun, and unfortunately the fastest way to obtain one right now is by doing it the illegal way. The other problem is being able to get a person that can sell it to her illegally. She does not really have any connections with people who live on the wrong side of the law; actually, she has no contact with such a person.

Anastasia almost feels disgusted with herself for wanting to kill another person, but Kai has driven her into this state of mind; it is his fault that she wants to kill him, it is his fault that she is starting to think like a killer, craving the sight of blood like a true killer, but what else can she do? No one else can help her because they will just end up dead, and besides, who is going to believe the story that a well-respected businessman had killed her family and then he had framed an innocent man for his crimes. No one will believe her seeing as everyone sees Kai Hiwatari as some type of saint, so she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. She is also certain that she will be doing a lot of people a huge favour by killing Hiwatari, because of what Tyson had told her about Kai that has destroyed so many lives already, and if he is not stopped, he is going to continue doing it, hurting innocent people, good people that does not deserve that type of hell and pain.

She knows it is wrong on so many levels, but nothing will bring her greater pleasure and satisfaction than to kill Kai Hiwatari, the black phoenix of Russia.

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Kai is already at the airport, waiting for Tala and Alisia by sitting on the steps of the jet. If there is one thing that the young man does not like, it is to be kept waiting, and both Tala and Alisia already know this, and yet they just cannot resist in keeping him waiting. Kai has already smoked half a packet of cigarettes since arriving at the airport and very soon he is going to finish the whole packet if those two don’t show up; they know it is a long flight but still they are taking their time.

Kai is about to light another cigarette when he finally spots the black Mercedes Benz with its tinted windows, making its way towards the private jet. Kai has always disliked it to be driven around, he prefers to drive himself around; Tala is also like that except when Alisia is with him, then it is a whole other situation because she likes to pretend to be a lady of leisure.

Tala and Alisia can already see through the windows that Kai is not happy with either of them, but the Ivanovs are not fazed with their friend’s mood.

The car stops right in front of the steps that lead right into the jet, Tala and Alisia taking their time in getting out of the car.

“Kai, darling, did you wait long?”

“Hn.”

Kai remains sitting on the stairs, lighting his cigarette, Alisia joining him. Their luggage is being loaded into the jet while the two are smoking.

“What took you two so long?”

“Oh the usual, Hiwatari, you just know how much I like it to waste your precious time.”

“Whatever.”

“So, Hiwatari, did you miss me?”

Kai just raises an eyebrow in Alisia’s direction, she just returning an innocent smile at her long time friend.

“I know you missed me, Hiwatari; come on, I mean, who cannot miss this?” she says while gesturing with her hands up and down over her body, Tala just snorting at her gesture.

“Ivanov, I want to see if you still want to snort when I have a headache for a month.”

Kai just chuckles when Tala’s jaw drops from Alisia’s threat, and it is no empty threat; Alisia is not one to make empty threats.

“You won’t dare.”

“You, my love, should know by now that I do not joke around when making threats.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just hurry up with your cancerous activities so that we can get flying already.”

“Should I remind you, that it is you two that have been the result of us still being on the ground; and now you can wait for us to finish our smoking, Tala.”

“If you want me, I will be sitting in my comfortable seat waiting for you two,” Tala says while squeezing through his wife and best friend while making his way up the stairs, while the two continue with their smoking.

Soon enough the jet is up in the air, making its way towards Colombia where Kai, Tala and Alisia will meet with a few cartels that will be working with The Chernyy Feniks mob in the production of cocaine. There will also be the manufacturing of guns just as Kai had informed the media, but it will just be a cover for what is really going to go behind the scenes.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – just another night

Summer has finally arrived in the northern hemisphere and everyone that is alive is taking advantage of the warmth of the summer season. Many have decided to take a vacation and to just relax next to a beach; others, especially the teenage girls, are wearing their very short shorts and spaghetti tops to accentuate their bodies, and also to catch the attention of the opposite sex. Some places in Europe are even experiencing a heat wave at this moment, and for these areas it is a bit uncomfortable with the extreme heat, but they are not complaining. Their summer months are already so short so there is no use in being so ungrateful about the warm weather; at least it brings the rain and all things beautiful.

In Paris, France, the weather is just perfect; not too hot or too cold, and now that it is night time, it suits the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the French city even better. The Eiffel tower is shining in all of its glory, taking away the breath of anyone who gazes upon the magnificent steel structure. The night life in the city of love is in full swing, many people just taking casual strolls in the streets of the beautiful city along with loved ones, whether the loved ones are lovers or family members. Many are holding gatherings with friends and family, just having a good time and relaxing; others are at a club, just dancing the night away. Whatever they are doing, they are all celebrating the summer time.

Unfortunately, illegal happenings are also taking place in this beautiful city on this beautiful night. Somewhere in the elite parts of Paris, a three storey mansion seems to have a very eloquent party if one can take a guess by looking at all of the cars that are driving up into the driveway and the guests that are getting out of these expensive looking cars. The brand and models of the cars that are arriving are those that many people can only dream of having within their possession. The evening gowns of the women are looking more expensive than most people’s yearly income, so clearly it is a party suited for only the very rich and very classy people. A person that is just a regular millionaire who has less than 100 million dollars in the bank is not welcome here.

Inside of the mansion it looks even more eloquent than on the outside, much more breath taking. The tiles are Italian marble, looking like they have been sculpted with only the finest of materials, the most beautiful paintings are decorating the walls, along with one of a kind designer statues; a live band is playing classical music in the background, giving it a more classy effect. One can almost feel the presence of the original inhabitants that had first occupied this beautiful architecture accomplishment; the first people who had lived here were about two hundred years ago.

The aroma of expensive perfumes, colognes and exotic flowers are filling the entertainment area, tingling one’s senses in an exotic way. Various men and women are gathered in small groups, all with a glass of expensive champagne in their hands, just talking about their latest expensive purchase or on which exotic island they had just had a luxurious vacation; professional waiters are walking around with very expensive snacks on silver dishes, gourmet foods. This very classy looking party is all in the name of The Chernyy Feniks, its party that it hosts four times a year, representing each season, for all of its wealthy clients within the French country. To the outside world, these people are known as well mannered and well established business people, classy people in high places that seems to never put a foot wrong, but that is all just a front. The Chernyy Feniks knows another side of these people, the darker version of themselves. Many of these well established men have some very dark dealings all over the world, paying lots of money for their illegal activities and being well known on the black market, and tonight is no different.

Garland is in charge of this whole affair, everyone greeting the young man with the upmost respect, seeing as they all respect and fear the young man at the same time. A few of these people are rich all thanks to Garland who had helped them in the past in whatever they needed, all illegal of course.

However, Garland is not alone tonight; by his side is Hilary, who is beautifully dressed in a beautiful bronze dress, gold stitching all over, bringing out her natural brown hair colour and her brown eyes; Garland himself is dressed in all black, with a black suit, black buttoned up shirt and a silk black tie, the colour suiting him in such a way as if it is made just for him. Hilary will be in charge of the auctioning of the girls later on in the night where only a few selected men will be allowed into the modern decorated dungeon where they will be able to buy young women for the highest bidder, to do with whatever they want after they have purchased the girls. The wives of these men know all about their husbands’ doings and they do not care seeing as many are trophy wives, and they love the luxuries of their lives way too much to even dare say a wrong thing about the whole situation.

The party is also a so-called charity drive, the rich donating a few hundred thousand dollars for the less fortunate, should the police decide to pay the party a visit, which might be highly unlikely seeing as the high commissioners in the police are also on the pay roll of The Chernny Feniks here in France, but one may never know. Most of the people at the party had never had the luck of meeting Kai; all they know is that the big boss of The Chernyy Feniks mob resides in Moscow, but that does not mean that they do not respect Garland. In France, especially Paris, no one dares mess with Garland or his men, and should they come in a tight spot, Garland and his men will help them, no questions asked.

The donating of money and auctioning of girls is not all that is going to take place within this mansion tonight; on the third floor, the master bedroom, which is a very large and decorated suite, a huge orgy will take place between a large number of men and women. Both men and women will please each other, no matter in which way, as long it is done in a sexual manner. For example, a man might give oral sex to another woman who is not his wife or partner, or he may even give oral sex to another man, while he is also stimulated sexually by another man or woman, and it can be anally or orally, and although this sexual party seems like a very hot and heavy affair, safety is very important. In fact, Garland is very strict on the safety, so strict that should any man get caught without a condom on while having sex with another person, he is banned for life, not only from the orgy, but also from the mansion, never to do any type of business with The Chernyy Feniks mob ever again. Garland does not take any part in the orgy as he finds it a very vile and revolting act from the human race, especially those that pretend to be all that high and mighty in the society. 

Hilary is not in charge of any affairs in France but she is always present when these people want to purchase girls. They usually contact Garland before hand and inform him on what they would like, their specific needs; Garland then informs Hilary about it, and then it is up to her to meet the clients’ expectations, hence why she is always present, to make sure that the clients are happy with their purchases. Many of the men like to buy teenagers that are still virgins, and because it is so rare to get one now a day, they are prepared to pay the highest price to obtain such a girl. Many would consider such an act as disgusting and cruel, but for Hilary it is just another business transaction, like purchasing a television set or clothes, it is no different to her. She could care less about what happens to the girls after they have been bought; all she cares about is the money.

Both the orgy and auctioning of the girls will begin at 11 pm sharp, so there is still about two hours left until the real parties start. For those who are not going to indulge in the auctioning or the orgy, they will have other things that can keep them entertained, an activity that involves drugs, only the finest cocaine coming straight from Colombia, the only place where The Chernyy Feniks gets its cocaine from; there will also be a few gambling games, but it will also start at the same time as the other activities. Right now everyone is just mingling with each other, showing off and bragging with their riches.

Garland and Hilary cannot stand these types of people, but just because of the money, they pretend to be all smiling and friendly with these people, like they are their best friends, when in fact they both just want to kill them all by burning them all alive after locking them up in this mansion. The two friends/accomplices are currently standing in a corner, each with a glass of champagne in their hands, just looking out at all of the attitudes and manners going on in front of them.

“Garland, promise me one thing, should there come a day where I start acting like these.....these nightmares, promise me that you are going to knock some sense into me, I don’t care how you do it.”

Garland just chuckles at Hilary, he finding her very attractive tonight, thinking that it might be the dress that is playing with his mind tonight, “Sure thing, Hils; would you mind if I do it by kidnapping you, and then keep you locked up in a cabin somewhere deep in the woods?”

“Whatever it takes, Garland; as long as it gets me to my normal state again, you can do however you see fit.”

Again Garland just chuckles, finding it very amusing at how Hilary really does not like the attitude of the snobs. Well, he can’t really blame her; they both feel the same way about it.

“How’s your fiancé, Hils?”

Hilary just sighs at that question, that never being a good sign, “Fine, I guess.”

Garland is immediately curious about that, and although he does not really care about other’s lives, tonight he is really interested in hearing about what is going on in Hilary’s life. Clearly the champagne was not a good idea; mixing that with the gorgeous looks of Hilary tonight, and you get yourself a very confused, and slightly horny young man.

“What do you mean by ‘you guess’?”

Again Hilary just sighs, turning her attention away from the people and looks straight into Garland’s eyes, causing the young man to just gaze into those brown jewels called her eyes. He has never noticed her beautiful brown eyes before, and he can silently kick himself right now for being so blind before.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him these last past three weeks because I constantly have an excuse, and it is not like that I don’t love him anymore, but it is just that I have grown tired of the relationship. I don’t even get excited when I know he is coming over to my place; in fact, it irritates me knowing that I have to spend a couple of hours of my time in his presence. I am really considering it in leaving him. He is such a nice guy and he really deserves a woman that will never grow tired of him. I am just not that woman.”

Hilary turns her attention back to the crowd while taking a huge sip from her drink. Garland does not really know what to say to that because he is no expert in relationships, his track record speaking for itself.

“Hils, I don’t really know what to say because I have no idea how relationships work, but one thing that I do know is that each person is responsible for his or her own happiness, no matter what they have to do to obtain it. Each one of us deserves to be happy, and if it means you have to break off the engagement, then so be it; no one has ever died because of a broken heart, well, not on their own accord anyway.”

Hilary turns back to face Garland, her eyes suddenly shining with an entirely new different light, “You have just given me the solution to my problem, Garland. I am going to leave him and tell him that we both need to be happy, but that it is not with each other, thanks so much, Garland!” Hilary exclaims while pulling Garland into a tight embrace, the young man feeling her breasts press up against him, this causing a sudden tightness in his nether regions.

He hugs her back, taking in her perfume which it is not too sweet, nor too blunt; it is just perfect, and it suits her personality.

“My pleasure, Hils,” he whispers against her ear, a tingling rush passing through Hilary’s body, one that she enjoys more than she should.

The two pull away from each other but still keeps body contact by slightly holding on to each other’s forearms, while looking deep into each other’s eyes, the atmosphere around the two suddenly turning into something else.

A smile forms around Hilary’s mouth, a smile looking way too much like that of someone who is planning something wicked, “I must thank you later on tonight for your excellent advice, Garland,” the tone of Hilary’s voice also sounding like that of a woman who is trying to seduce a man.

Before Garland can reply to that, Hilary leans closer to him until she is breathing into Garland’s left ear, the heated breath on his ear causing his knees to start feeling weak, which is just worsened when she starts to talk in a huskily voice against his ear, “I am going to thank you properly, in a way which both of us are going to reach a climax, if you know what I mean.”

Hilary pulls away, leaving Garland’s ear cold with the sudden departure of her luscious mouth from his ear. She releases him completely, winking at him before she leaves him standing there with a mind full of hot and passionate images of what they might do later on tonight.

‘Who knew that tonight will be the night where I will win more than these cocky bastards here? I am going to make Hilary crumble before me with lust and satisfaction. This sure is going to be one interesting night,’ and with that thought, Garland downs the last of his drink before he leaves to get another refill, spotting Hilary in the crowd mingling with some trophy wives, she winking at him once again when she looks at him. He just smirks back, feeling the pressure build up in his member once more, all because of the unexpected and unplanned excitement.

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Somewhere in a night club in Budapest, a very attractive young man is sitting with an equal attractive young woman who is straddling his lap. With his green eyes and orange like coloured spiked hair, Brooklyn is entertaining his female companion for the night in a club that he owns. They are currently in his office, the lights on dim and music playing softly in the back ground, while the two young adults are locked in a very heated moment, although they are not having sex, not yet anyway, but it is the end destination. Both are shirtless, although Brooklyn’s female companion still has her light pink lace bra on, while her hands are slightly pressing into the skin of Brooklyn’s back as their passionate kissing continues on, and Brooklyn’s hands are having a firm grip on her ass. Both of the occupants’ shirts are discarded onto the floor, long forgotten, and by the looks of, the rest of their clothing will soon follow.

The office of Brooklyn is situated on the second floor of the building, it overlooking the entire club. The windows of the office are tinted so that outsiders on the dance floor might think that it is only mirrors in which they are watching themselves dance. The music in the club is blasting over the state of the art speakers, the dance floor packed with moving bodies. Laser lights are going along with the beats of the music; those that are on ecstasy are getting lost in the world of the various colours of the laser lights. A few of Brooklyn’s men are casually walking around in the dancing crowd, selling ecstasy tablets to whoever wants to get high.

One of the men, Sledge, is selling other drugs like cocaine, heroin, crystal meth and LSD. The DJ is ensuring that the music never stops and that it keeps an up beat the entire time. Men and women are grinding their bodies against each other, just getting lost within the euphoric moment. Body guards are also standing at various locations within the club on the second floor, overlooking everything and making sure that everything goes smoothly in the club. Should there be a person that thinks it will be wise to cause trouble, Brooklyn will take care of that person personally, and unfortunately is Brooklyn not known for his caring and warm personality.

A black haired woman is dancing on her own by just swaying her entire body along with the music. She does not seem interested in dancing with anyone else, but one man is not about to respect her wishes. He comes to stand right behind her, placing his hands on her hips and pulls her close to him so that her ass is pressed up against his crotch area. She is not impressed with him at all, and immediately tries to get out of his grip, but he seems determined to make her his tonight. She manages to turn around and slap him, and he also slaps her back, causing her to fall to the floor between the other dancing people. The man is clearly not finished with her as he approaches her and pulls her up very harshly by her arms, but unfortunately for him, two other men has already seen what the guy has done. They manage to grab the man by his shirt, and yank him away from the woman, but the man just retaliates by starting to swing his fists at them.

One of Brooklyn’s men has been watching the scenario unfolding, he just waiting for the opportune moment to intervene and now seems like that opportune moment. He signals other two men to follow him and soon enough they are in the middle of the commotion. They quickly take hold of the man that has forced himself onto the woman, and without asking any questions, they take him up to Brooklyn’s office.

By now, Brooklyn is only sitting in his boxers, his female companion only in her underwear. They are locked in a heated kiss when the two are abruptly interrupted by a knock on the door. Brooklyn immediately gets pissed, and does not hide his dissatisfaction with the interruption by screaming ‘what?!’ in a very pissed off tone of voice to whoever dares to disturb him.

“We have a trouble maker here, boss; he tried to force himself onto a woman.”

Brooklyn groans at that, but gets up anyway, not caring that his female companion is also pissed at the whole scenario. Brooklyn puts on his shirt and pants, and then tells his companion to also get dressed. When they both are descent, Brooklyn opens the door to let the men in along with the trouble maker.

The female companion of Brooklyn gathers her things and leaves, leaving the men alone. Brooklyn goes to take a seat behind his desk, an indication for the others to start talking.

“I watched him force himself onto a girl, and when she did not want to oblige, he slapped her.”

“Hey, the bitch slapped me first!”

“Shut up, you incompetent little human,” is all Brooklyn says to the trouble maker, but he does it in a tone that frightens the other men, but not the trouble maker.

“Leave us,” and by just hearing that, the other men leave as instructed, leaving the trouble maker alone with Brooklyn, but the young man does not seem to be bothered by this as he looks very smug with himself.

“Bad move, green eyes; I don’t know who you think you are, but I am not afraid of you. If you really knew what I am capable of, you would not have instructed your men to leave me alone with you.”

Brooklyn just starts to smirk at the young man, cruel ideas already going through his mind, “Really? And what is your name, if I may ask?”

“Stefan, and you must be crazy if you think that I am going to tell you my last name.”

“And why is that, Stefan? Do you have something to hide?” the tone in Brooklyn’s voice quickly changing to that of a sly one, even the look on his face changes.

Stefan just snorts at the question, rolling his eyes in the process. On the inside Brooklyn is already starting to fume with anger because of the ignorant attitude of this young man, but the angrier Stefan makes Brooklyn, the more gruesome his torturing will be.

“No, but I don’t think you are worthy of knowing my last name; I am a very powerful man in Budapest, and you are below me.”

Clearly he has never heard of Brooklyn, or The Chernny Feniks mob, otherwise Stefan would have been very careful with what he is saying; little does he know that the more he insults Brooklyn, the more painful his torture is going to be. Brooklyn plans on mutilating this arrogant sad excuse of a man in a very horrible and bloody way, and he can hardly wait for the torture to begin.

“And what makes you so powerful, Stefan? Is it maybe daddy’s money that gives you power?”

Stefan says nothing, a clear indication to Brooklyn that it indeed is the truth.

“Little boy, do you not know that ignorance is a very ugly thing, and that it can get you into a lot of trouble?”

Again Stefan just snorts, crossing his arms over his chest, “If you don’t mind, you are actually ruining my night; I have way better things to do than to hang around in this gang wannabe office.”

“And what would that be, Stefan? Does it include you forcing yourself on to an innocent girl?”

“Please; that bitch does not know what she is missing out on; besides, there are many other women that would fall to their knees to be with me, only if for one night.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t see them flocking around you right now, and what I have heard, neither are they flocking around you on the dance floor; why is that Stefan?”

“Maybe because this is a lame ass club, and all of the pretty girls would much rather save themselves the embarrassment of being seen in this club.”

Brooklyn tries his best to keep his composure calm and collected; he really is going to enjoy torturing and killing this sad excuse of a man. ‘Time to start playing with him,’ is all Brooklyn thinks to himself, a sly smile forming on his mouth.

“In case you have not noticed, this is my club, Stefan.”

Again Stefan just snorts, “Figures; like boss, like club. So, green eyes, now that I have insulted your club, what do you intend on doing about it?”

Brooklyn just leans back in his chair, placing his hands at the back of his head as he just continues smiling at Stefan with his sly smile, “You got balls, kid, and I admire that; it is not every day that I come across someone that insults me or my club, and still shows courage afterwards. Most of the time people tremble in my mere presence.”

“I am not afraid of anyone, especially not some orange haired freak playing the ‘big dangerous boss’ role,” Stefan says, saying the ‘big dangerous boss’ part with the air quotes with his fingers, angering Brooklyn even more, but the orange haired man is luckily an expert in keeping calm; it just adds to his twisted mind.

“And whoever says I am playing big boss, Stefan? You don’t even know who I am.”

“I don’t care; you can be the president of Colombia, and it will still mean shit to me.”

“You really are a fiery young man, aren’t you? Well, Stefan, it seems that you have just earned my respect, something that does not happen a lot; you should feel honoured.”

“What the hell does that mean? I did not ask for your respect; in fact, you should be the one trying to earn my respect.”

“Oh, but, Stefan, you do not understand what it really means. Having my respect means that I can open a door to an entire new world for you, a world with power, drugs, money and lots and lots of girls, gorgeous women, world class models. I have quite an impressive list with lots of contacts, very important contacts and friends in very high places. You may enjoy it once I introduce you to that world.”

Stefan’s posture suddenly changes, a clear indication to Brooklyn that he has just peaked Stefan’s curiosity. No normal straight man can ignore the mention of the four things Brooklyn has just mentioned to Stefan.

“What makes you think that I don’t already have access to such a world?”

“If that were so, why would you be spending your night in a lame ass club like this when you could have been on a yacht, surrounded with only the finest cuisines and the most gorgeous women all over you?”

Stefan does not say anything, realising that he has been caught out with pretending to be a big shot.

“What do you say, Stefan? Are you interested in becoming a part of my world? My friends will like you, seeing as you have the right attitude to fit in with our crowd.”

“I guess I can have a look to see whether it is worthy of my time or not.”

Brooklyn claps his hands together, exclaiming ‘excellent’ in a delightful tone, “Well, Stefan, if you don’t have anything better to do right now, I guess we can leave now. I can organise us a jet, and we can fly to Monaco tonight. I believe that one of my friends is having a party on his yacht tonight. If we leave now, we can be there in less than two hours, leaving us enough time to party till the sun rises.”

“Sure, why not. Just lead the way.”

“Excellent; just give me a minute to arrange everything.”

Stefan just gives a silent nod, while walking over to one of the couches to take a seat while he waits for Brooklyn.

Brooklyn presses on the intercom on his table, instructing a man with the name Crusher to come to his office, and within in a minute, a huge dark skinned man comes walking into the office. Anyone wise will not dare to take on this huge man; even Stefan is intimidated with the height and size of Crusher, but he does not show it, as he just pretends to be bored by all of the waiting.

“Crusher, I would like you to take my special guest, Mr Stefan, down to the waiting room; I am going to fly us both to Monaco tonight, but I don’t want to keep him waiting while I quickly make the arrangements.”

“Yes, sir,” Crusher says as he bows his head.

He knows very well what Brooklyn means by taking his ‘special guest down to the waiting room’. This is not the first time that Crusher has had to take someone down to the ‘waiting room’, and it is also not going to be the last.

“Stefan, please follow Crusher; I will be with you two shortly.”

“Fine.”

Stefan gets up with a sigh, making it very clear to both Brooklyn and Crusher that he is bored, but thanks to Brooklyn, that will soon be changing.

Just before the two men leaves the office, Brooklyn calls Crusher, “Please make sure that Mr Stefan is very comfortable until I join you,” the sneer on Brooklyn’s face being a clear indication of what he really means by it.

“Yes, sir,” and then both Crusher and Stefan leaves, making their way down to the ‘waiting room’.

“Oh poor, poor Stefan; tonight I am going to hurt you in a way you never could have dreamt about in your worst nightmares. Goody, goody, I can hardly wait.”

Brooklyn opens the last drawer of his desk and removes a pair of black leather gloves, and without waiting another second, Brooklyn too makes his way out of his office, his face looking like that of a maniac if one can look at how his eyes are shining with malice, a look that will unsettle anyone who should gaze into his eyes right now.

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Still in Budapest, in a children’s hospital somewhere in the city, most lights are already switched off, all of the children already in their comfortable beds. The only lights that are still on are those of the desk lamps situated at the various nurses’ stations right through the children’s hospital. If one looks from the outside to the three storey-building, one can already see that its occupants are early sleepers. One can almost mistake the place for an old age home, but a three storey building is a bit too drastic for the elderly, seeing as the stairs will be too much of a struggle to climb up and down, and let’s face it: elevators are not always 100% reliable.

In the colourful corridors not a single soul is walking around; the nurses have already finished with their rounds, and will only check in on the patients in about two hours’ time.

On the third floor however, four masked men are currently sneaking around, quietly and expertly, making sure that no one sees them. They do not have to worry about CCTV footage, because the system has already been hacked, the CCTV screens in the security rooms showing the corridors to be empty. The masked men only have one concern and that is that of the nurses, but should a nurse walk in on them unexpectedly, they will simply deal with her, silencing her forever. The masked men are at the children’s hospital with only one mission: they have to obtain three new born babies and three toddlers ranging from 1 – 2 years, whether they are sick or not; as long as the children do not have cancer. The order has come from Valerie herself as she has a few people that wants to buy the children, and they do not have the time or patience to go through the necessary channels; what they want to do with the children is none of Valerie’s concern.

Luckily these men are experts in kidnapping children, and tonight will be a walk in the park for them. The men do not only take kids from hospitals but also from schools, playgrounds, even from their homes, and unfortunately for both the authorities and the parents, they never see the children again after they have been kidnapped by these skilled and heartless child kidnappers. The Chernyy Feniks does not care about its victims or what the disappearance of the children does to the loved ones of the victims; if it cared about the after effect, it would not have continued with its illegal dealings.

The four men already know the layout of the hospital and they know exactly where to get the children that they need to obtain. The children will be drugged beforehand should they wake up while they are being carried out of the hospital. Before the nurses can realise that there are children missing, the four men will be long gone, leaving no trace behind.

The four men reach a room, the entire room filled with about 12 new born babies, an even amount of boys and girls, the blankets a clear indication of the sexes of the babies. One of the men checks to see whether the coast is clear or not before they all go in, one of them waiting outside to keep an eye out for any possible problem that may arise.

The orders are to obtain two boys and one girl, and without even bothering to check the surnames of the babies, the three infants are obtained, all three fast asleep, much to the relief of the three masked men. They are in and out of the room in record time, ensuring them to finish their task early tonight. All three infants are injected with a serum that will keep them asleep for the whole journey, and fortunately the serum is specially designed for infants, with no lasting after effects; there is no use in killing the babies before they even reach their buyers. Two of the masked men have the three infants with them, tied comfortably against their bodies to ensure that the babies do not obtain any type of injury; Valerie will not hesitate in killing them should something like that happen, whether they are the best in their profession or not. There is simply no room for error.

Soon the men move onto the next room, and just like with the infants, it goes smoothly, and before anyone can suspect anything, the men are in the van, all six children fast asleep and comfortable, as the van makes its journey to the offices of Valerie, where the children will remain until their buyers come to obtain them. The hospital and family members will never see the six children ever again.

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A large wooden door of a bedroom slowly and quietly opens, a brown haired woman peaking out just a little to make sure that the corridor is empty. Hilary smirks to herself when she sees that there is no one, and opens up the door completely to let herself and Garland out. She is still fixing her dress, to make sure that she still looks as elegant as she did earlier, but her hair is no longer as stylish as it had been earlier.

Both Hilary and Garland looks a little flushed, both of them looking very pleased with themselves. Hilary is about to walk away from Garland after smiling at him one last time, but he grabs her by her wrist, turns her around to face him and with his free hand, places it on her one hip and then pushes her up against the wall where he attacks her lips once more, wanting to taste them all over again, and not just her lips. Hilary gladly complies with the kiss, her hands fisting Garland’s shirt as she pulls him even closer to her, their bodies getting hot for each other all over again.

The two continues kissing very passionately for another few minutes, and just as Garland is about to lead the two of them back into the room, Hilary breaks apart from the heated moment, “Easy, lover, we have responsibilities.”

“I know, but I just want more and more of you.”

Hilary leans closer to Garland, brushing her lips over his, speaking in a very seductive voice, “Wait till everyone is gone; then we can go on for the rest of the night, and continue tomorrow after we have switched off our phones.”

Garland can just grin at that plan, and after kissing her for one last time, the two leaves in their separate directions; Hilary has to go way down into the basement as the auctioning of the girls will start shortly, and Garland has to go to the third storey as the sex party will also have to start shortly.

Earlier the night, Hilary and Garland had stumbled across each other once more, but this time it was not to make small talk; the sexual tension was explosive between the two and they could not resist it, and so they had found a quiet room and just got undressed as fast as possible where they continued to have lots of pleasure until their bodies could no longer keep up.

Hilary does not even regret it for one second, despite having cheated on her fiancé. This little adventure with Garland has just convinced her even more that she is done with her fiancé, and that she is going to leave him as soon as she gets back to Moscow.

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A muffled scream can be heard echoing through a small room, the muffled scream coming from the occupant inside of the small room who is currently tied up in a chair, his mouth stuffed with a sock and then duck taped.

Stefan is currently experiencing a horrible amount of pain as Brooklyn once again tortures him by clipping off the third last toe off of his left foot. All the toes on Stefan’s right foot have already been clipped off, the foot being covered with blood, and it looking like a stump. The worst part is that Brooklyn is doing it as slow as possible, causing Stefan even more pain. The poor man has already been tortured for an hour now, and it won’t be long until he finally passes out from the pain. Brooklyn is just laughing and joking the entire time, constantly asking the ignorant man whether he still thinks he is all that.

Earlier, after Crusher had escorted Stefan to the small room, which is built with sound proof walls, Brooklyn came in after them in an almost stealth mode, and then knocked Stefan over the head, but not hard enough for him to lose consciousness, only for Stefan to see black for a few seconds. Crusher had placed Stefan on a chair and had tied his hands behind the chair, stuffing a sock into his mouth and then duck taped it, and after securing Stefan on the chair, he left Brooklyn alone with Stefan.

Crusher may be a big guy, but he does not like to witness people being mutilated and then tortured; his stomach cannot handle such gruesome scenes and he has already seen it one too many times of how his boss likes to mutilate his victims.

Brooklyn’s first form of torture on the young man was that of a scalpel making deep cuts on his upper legs, cutting through both the material of his jeans and the skin of his legs like that of a hot rod cutting through a thin piece of metal. Brooklyn told Stefan that in a while he is going to look back at this cutting and long for it because Brooklyn has a lot of cruel stuff planned for the arrogant young man.

After cutting both of his upper legs numerous times, Brooklyn proceeded with acid, a favourite of him, and also something that he learned from Kai not too long ago, and dipped a piece of cloth wrapped around a wooden stick into the hydrochloric acid and rubbed it all over the open wounds on the legs of Stefan, causing the young man unimaginable pain. Tears streamed from his eyes as he screamed and pleaded with Brooklyn to stop, but Brooklyn just smiled like a maniac the more Stefan screamed and begged for mercy. Stefan squirmed in his seat with every drop of acid that had touched his skin, but the squirming just worsened his situation.

After the acid episode had finished, Brooklyn proceeded to clip off the tips of Stefan’s fingers by sitting right behind the young man with the pliers and cutting them off one for one, also in a slow manner. After the finger torture was finished, Brooklyn proceeded to the toes of the young man, the part he is almost finished with now, and Brooklyn is still not done with the young man; he still has some torture in store for the arrogant prick, although Brooklyn already knows how he is going to finish off the young man, and it is not going to be pretty.

“So, Stefan, do you still think that my club is lame, and that I am just some guy playing big boss? I am your worst nightmares’ worst nightmare. You can thank your arrogance for all of this pain because by the looks of it, you just don’t know when to shut up.”

Another muffled scream is heard as Brooklyn snips off the second last toe of Stefan. Brooklyn knows that the arrogant man won’t be conscious for much longer due to all of the blood loss, but he has a way of waking him should poor little Stefan decide to pass out, and that too involves a lot of pain.

Brooklyn finally stands up after snipping off the last toe, Stefan suddenly feeling very anxious on what Brooklyn might do to him next. He clearly hears the ruffling of chains behind him, and he just knows that something very bad is about to happen to him. Unfortunately for Stefan, he is not blind folded because Brooklyn wants him to see everything that is being done to him, a horrible sight for any person to witness, and as many believe, a way for the pain to be more excruciating seeing as the mind is already progressing the pain upon sight, add that to the pain coming from the nerves, and you have a very painful situation.

The next thing Stefan knows, chains are being tied around his arms, and the binds of his legs are cut lose, and although Stefan is in incredible pain, he is still very aware of his surroundings. All of a sudden he is lifted up into the air, every movement causing him even more agonising pain to his already very badly mutilated body. Another muffled scream escapes the young man, causing Brooklyn to burst out in laughter once more.

“Stop whining like a baby; you do realise that this is your own fault, right? If you didn’t insult my club, you would not have been hanging here right now. I hope you were nice to your parents before you had left for your nightly activities, because you are never going to see them ever again. If they are lucky, they might be able to discover your body, but like I said, if they are lucky, because my grand finale that I have planned for you is going to make it very difficult for anyone to identify you,” Brooklyn’s voice dripping with malice accompanied with a sly smirk, his eyes having a gleam in them that can even make the most hardened criminals a bit nervous.

Stefan’s eyes suddenly grow wide when he hears Brooklyn’s plan, the young man suddenly starting to squirm once more, and although each movement is causing him much more pain, he does not care; he just wants to get out of here and run for his life. He does not even care how mutilated he will be for the rest of his life, just as long as he stays alive, but Brooklyn really looks serious in killing him tonight.

Brooklyn comes to stand right in front of Stefan, the scalpel reflecting in his hand, but still Stefan does not stop squirming.

“You can try all you want, you pathetic little boy, but you are not living to see another sunrise, that I can promise you.”

Brooklyn proceeds to take hold of Stefan’s shirt, slicing it to pieces with the scalpel, ripping the torn pieces of cloth from his body, leaving Stefan’s upper body completely exposed. Brooklyn just snorts at the sight; for Stefan’s cocky attitude one would think that he will at least be toned with a few definite muscles showing, just like himself and all of the other guys of The Chernyy Feniks, but no, he does not even have a speck of toned muscle on his body.

“You really are pathetic, you know that, Stefan? Not even a well built body; the world really will not be missing anything if I kill you.”

Brooklyn presses the scalpel just above Stefan’s navel, and starts to slice upwards, although not very deep, just deep enough to draw blood, but unfortunately it is deep enough for Stefan to scream out once more in agonising pain.

“I should actually record your screaming, because it really is music to my ears,” Brooklyn says in his still malice tone of voice, all the while, while moving the scalpel upwards as slow as possible.

He stops right at the collar bone of Stefan, and then starts to move the scalpel to the left side, all along the bone, while still keeping it at a shallow cut.

After he reaches the end part of the collar bone, Brooklyn starts to cut diagonally, right to Stefan’s left nipple. Another muffled scream is heard as Brooklyn plunges the scalpel deep into Stefan’s skin, expertly starting to cut all along the nipple, and soon enough Brooklyn is holding the pink nipple in his hand, dangling it in a mocking manner in front of Stefan, the green eyed man laughing like a maniac while doing it. Blood is flowing from the wound, and Stefan is now in even more pain than before, and he can feel himself losing consciousness.

Brooklyn throws the nipple on to the floor and crushes it with his foot, and then he proceeds with the same movements on the right side of Stefan’s body. Again the same is done to the right side as it had been done to the left side, but just before Brooklyn can remove the nipple completely, Stefan passes out, his head just dangling about while his entire body goes limp. This does not sit well with Brooklyn at all; he wants Stefan to be conscious until the very end, until the grand finale.

Brooklyn places the scalpel on the table and then walks to the one corner of the room where there are wires coming out of the wall. It is electrical wires that have been connected to the main electrical supply of the room. Brooklyn retrieves two wires, both which have clamps at the end. He also retrieves two sharp pieces of metal, and then presses both pieces of metal into Stefan’ s upper chest, the young man still remaining unconscious. Brooklyn proceeds to connect the two clamps with the metal pieces and then walks back to the corner to flip a switch. The light dips a few times but within seconds, Stefan is wide awake, once again squirming like a snake on a hot plate, but this time it is not caused by his own accord; the electrical current running through his body is making the young man squirm like that. Satisfied that Stefan is wide awake now, Brooklyn switches off the current, but does not remove the clamps, or the pieces of metal.

“I am glad to see that you are awake, you worthless piece of shit. If you dare pass out on me again, you will wake up in a much worse way than now, and as you might know by now, I do not make empty threats.”

Brooklyn once again takes the scalpel in his hands, and then proceeds to finish cutting off Stefan’s right nipple, and by now the young man’s entire front side is covered with his own blood. After stomping on the pink bud and destroying it completely with his shoe, Brooklyn steps some distance away from Stefan, his arms crossed over his chest, tilting his head to the one side, just looking at the bloody mess in front of him, but still Brooklyn is not done with Stefan, being unsatisfied with the little blood that has already been spilled.

“How ever will I cause more blood to be spilled from your body without killing you?” Brooklyn asks as he mockingly places the index finger of his right hand at the right corner of his mouth, as if he is deep in thought, “Mmmmmm Stefan? Ahh yes, I have the perfect solution to our little problem. I will just open you; that way I can see how your intestines look, and maybe then I will be able to discover why you are so full of shit.”

Just then Stefan starts to cry and scream like a little baby, much to Brooklyn’s amusement.

“Are you crying? Oh you poor thing, this must be very horrible for you, right? Don’t worry, it won’t be much longer, then all of this will come to an end, but unfortunately for you, it will not be a painless ending. You will die a horrible death, and you can see that as my departing gift to you.”

Once again Brooklyn approaches Stefan, scalpel in hand, and without any warning, he plunges it right into the left side of Stefan’s stomach, cutting a very deep cut all across his abdomen, and already Brooklyn can spot the intestines through all of the blood. Stefan is screaming non-stop, once again squirming like a snake that has been placed on a hot plate, but the more he squirms, the more blood he spills. Brooklyn places the scalpel back on the table once again before retrieving a pair of surgical gloves from his pockets, putting them over his black leather gloves and doing it in a mocking way, putting even more fear into the young Stefan.

“Now let us see, or rather feel, the inside of you,” is all Brooklyn says while he slowly approaches Stefan, the sadistic gleam in his eye looking more terrifying than before.

Stefan had no idea that a person can be this sick, but he is experiencing it firsthand now of how sick the human kind can really be. He can clearly feel how Brooklyn is wriggling his hands inside of him, and Stefan can also feel how he is about to throw up because of all the incredible pain. He suddenly realises that he will not be able to throw up, seeing as his mouth is closed off, meaning he will just choke in his own vomit, which might not sound like a bad idea right now. At least in that way he will be spared the rest of Brooklyn’s sick ways, but Stefan is just not lucky enough seeing as his own body has suddenly turned against him, because at once the feeling of throwing up has just disappeared like that. Maybe he had jinxed it when he had thought of it as his way out of this hell of a nightmare that he is currently finding himself in.

Stefan can feel Brooklyn remove his hands from within him, the orange haired man looking very smug with himself as he starts to remove the blood covered surgical gloves from his black leather gloves.

“Well, Stefan, now for the grand finale, and I have to warn you again, do not dare to pass out on me.”

Without saying another word, Brooklyn takes the roll of duck tape and starts to close up the deep cut across Stefan’s abdomen, and after finishing up with that task, he retrieves his phone and once again calls Crusher.

“Don’t worry, you poor bastard, soon, all of this will be over. 

Stefan really tries his best to stay awake, but his body is functioning on its own now, already indicating that it has lost too much blood.

It does not take long for Crusher to appear, along with three other men. Stefan is slightly aware of how he is removed from the chains, being dragged along a concrete floor, having no idea of what is going on around him right now.

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Two cars come to stop in the middle of now where, one of the cars belonging to Stefan, but he is not driving his car. Brooklyn gets out of the first car, along with Crusher and two other men, and then two men retrieves four car tyres from the boot of their car. Two other men also get out of Stefan’s car, but there is still no sign of Stefan anywhere. The two men that had driven Stefan’s car, walks to the boot and then retrieves a squirming body from the boot, his hands and feet tied with duct tape. They position the tied up man onto his bleeding, toeless feet. Crusher and the other men start to put the tyres over him while Brooklyn remains standing a distance away, watching the whole scene unfold, while also looking very bored with himself.

After all four tyres have been placed over Stefan, the men drag him back to his car, throwing him into the boot. Brooklyn then comes walking towards them, a canister of gasoline in his hand, which he starts to douse over Stefan’s whole body.

After being sure that Stefan has been properly doused with gasoline, Brooklyn takes a box of matches from his pocket, and lights just one stick and throws it onto Stefan, the gasoline immediately taking flame, Stefan screaming like a mutilated animal as the flames start to eat away at his body, the tyres ensuring that the flames will not die anytime soon. All the men remain standing there, watching the horrendous scene play out in front of them, no expression or any sign of remorse on any of their faces; Brooklyn even yawns while watching Stefan scream and burn.

Soon enough it is just silence coming from the young man, the only sound being that of the flames crackling as it continues eating away at the body of young Stefan and at the tires. When Brooklyn is finally satisfied that his body has been burned beyond recognition, he indicates to Crusher to close the boot on the burning body and tyres that are inside. The men then proceed to push the car off of the cliff, a very high cliff, and the moment the car reaches the bottom, it explodes into a blaze of glory. Brooklyn does not even glace in to the direction of the cliff and just makes his way over to the car.

He is really tired and just wants to get in his comfortable bed, but that will be some time before he can go and snog his bed because they are quite a distance out of Budapest, but at least his night has not been too disappointing.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – no more me

“Screw it, I am getting pissed tonight!”

“Are you serious, Ana?!”

“Yes, Dmitri, and if you and Elena don’t like it, I don’t care. Then you guys can just take your shit and leave, because I have no intention of walking out of here sober, and if a hot guy catches my eye, all the better; I may even go home with him and do the dirty!”

Dmitri and Elena just gasps at how blunt their cousin is tonight; she is usually like this but it is usually accompanied with a positive and funny attitude, but tonight one can almost feel nauseous by the negative vibes that are coming off of Anastasia. Both of her cousins realise that she is really not in a good space right now, but they also know that there is nothing they can do now. The only thing they can actually do is to keep an eye on her, to prevent Anastasia from doing something very foolish; other than that, their hands are tied.

“Ana, please; this is not like you, can’t we just go home and watch a movie or something?!” Elena half screams over the loud music while Anastasia just downs her drink while looking at the dancing crowd, her body itching to get on the dance floor and to just get lost in the sea of dancing bodies and music.

“If you don’t want to be here, get lost then, and stop spoiling the night for me!” and without saying anything else, or even waiting for either Dmitri or Elena to say anything else, Anastasia just turns her back on her two cousins and heads for the dance floor.

Elena just turns to her brother, a look that Dmitri already knows too well, “Ah hell no, I am not baby-sitting that lunatic tonight!”

“She’s your cousin, Dmitri!”

“So?! She is also yours, and may I add, also your best friend! I am not approaching a pissed off Ana! Forget it, sis!”

All Elena can do is to sigh at her brother. She can understand his attitude because she feels the exact same way. When Anastasia had called her earlier the morning and asked whether she and Dmitri wants to go clubbing with her tonight, she had hesitated at first, because for the last couple of months, Anastasia had not been herself, almost like she has transformed into a darker version of herself, full of hate, pain and dare she say it, evil, and she does not like the new version of her beloved cousin. She can understand that losing your family the way Anastasia had has to be tough for anyone, but it is like the Anastasia that they all knew and loved had died along with her family, and has been replaced with the new version of her.

Anastasia has been drinking a lot now a days, and although she has permanently moved into Vladimir’s old penthouse, Anastasia does not allow anyone to come and visit her, and Elena can’t help but get the feeling that Anastasia is hiding something from them, something very bad that can end up with her in big trouble.

Elena is brought out of her thoughts on her cousin when her brother suddenly yells into her ear; because of the loud music, the only way of really communicating with another person is by yelling or shouting at them.

“What, Dmitri?!”

Dmitri says noting but instead just points into the direction of where Anastasia is currently dancing, and Elena does not like the look of it. Anastasia is currently dancing very provocatively with two guys, sandwiched between the two men, and both guys have a sly smirk on their faces, and that can’t be good. Anastasia is clearly oblivious to it all, clearly too focused on her dancing to even realise that the two men that she is currently dancing with has plans of their own with her, and unfortunately it does not include dancing. Their hands are roaming her body all over, but Anastasia just does not seem to care about any of it. She feels dead on the inside so she might as well act like a dead person: completely emotionless.

“That’s it! It can’t go on like this!”

Elena marches her way over to Anastasia and abruptly grabs her cousin by the arm and yanks her away from the two men, Anastasia immediately pissed by this action. Anastasia removes herself from Elena’s hold with an aggressive force and glares at her cousin.

“What the hell is your problem, Elena?! You have been bitching non-stop in my ears, you and Dmitri! Just get off my case!”

Anastasia makes to turn and to go back to dancing with the two men that are patiently waiting for her return, but Elena once again grabs Anastasia and turns her cousin to her very forcefully.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Ana?! This is not like you! All this time I have been trying my best to be patient with you, but it has been six months! Get a grip on yourself already!”

SMACK!

Elena grabs her cheek that Anastasia had just slapped with a great force, Elena’s cheek immediately starting to burn, the hand print of Anastasia clearly starting to become visible. Dmitri immediately yells his sister’s name and comes running to them and then pulls Elena away from Anastasia, who is still glaring at her cousin with a murderous look in her eyes.

Both Elena and Dmitri are beyond shocked about what Anastasia had just done, but she remains cold and indifferent about the whole situation, despite it being the first time in her entire life that she has ever lifted a hand towards her cousin.

Dmitri holds his sister in his arms, the tears visible in Elena’s eyes, “What the hell is wrong with you?! We don’t know you like this, Ana!”

“Go to hell, both of you! The old me is gone, she died the night her parents and her brother’s throats were slit, and if you don’t like the new Ana, then fine by me. That way you both can get the hell out of my life and stay out of it! I don’t need you, I don’t need anybody!” and with that, Anastasia stalks off to go and join the two men from earlier, both smirking when the young blonde once again takes up her place between the two of them.

Dmitri continues holding and consoling his sister, both siblings just at a complete loss of words of what had just transpired between the three cousins. They have never thought, not even in their wildest dreams, or nightmares for that fact, that Anastasia would lash out like that; it is just completely unheard of. The two siblings continue to look at Anastasia, at how she is dancing seductively with the two men, clearly not caring about the fact that she had just slapped her cousin, and she does not even look like she feels bad about it.

“Let’s go, sis; there is nothing we can do now!”

Elena just nods her head at her brother and allows Dmitri to lead her out of the club, Anastasia not even looking into the direction of her two cousins.

It has already been six months since that dreadful day in the cemetery where Anastasia had made a promise that she will kill Kai Hiwatari, and it has also been six months since she has changed, allowing hate to consume her completely, rage becoming her new life force. Every day Anastasia wakes up with only one thought: kill Kai Hiwatari, and with that thought she also goes to bed. She has not cried once since leaving the cemetery that day, the hate inside of her and the craving for revenge not allowing her to cry. 

In the past six months, Anastasia has become obsessed with Kai Hiwatari, his company and worst of all, The Chernyy Feniks mob. She has watched the business channels everyday for news, any news, on Hiwatari Enterprises. She has bought every newspaper, reading about deaths and crimes in the city. She has bought every magazine that has to do with the business world, anything that is remotely related to Kai Hiwatari.

In her penthouse, she has turned Vladimir’s old bedroom into her own bedroom, and the guest room where she had always stayed when she had visited Vladimir in the past, she has transformed into her ‘research centre’. There is no bed in the room, just a desk, chair, computer with internet, a printer and a shit load of clippings on Kai, the walls covered with pictures and articles of the young business mogul. If one didn’t know any better, one would think that Anastasia is in love with Kai, obsessed with him. And yes, she is obsessed with him, but not in the loving obsession, more like the hateful obsession, the one that can only lead to disaster.

But unfortunately, in the last past six months, Anastasia has not even come close to killing Kai; in fact, she has not even seen him yet. For a whole month, everyday, Anastasia had waited outside the Hiwatari Enterprises building, from early the morning until late at night, just in order to get a glimpse of Hiwatari, so that she can follow him, but no such luck. She has even started to wonder whether he really works there, but every time she calls his office, and asks for Mr Kai Hiwatari, they say that he is currently in a meeting or is unavailable, but not once did they deny that there is no such person at the office, and the number of his offices are also not wrong, because she has asked the direct number to Mr Hiwatari’s office, at the main reception, so the number is also not wrong. Anastasia just cannot understand how the guy arrives and leaves the building. 

Anastasia has also managed to obtain an illegal firearm, and has not breathed a word to anyone, especially not to her family; they will for surely have ten different heart attacks, and she is really not in the mood for more family drama. Anastasia felt very ashamed at herself when she had bought the gun, knowing that her brother had worked so hard to put these criminals behind bars, and what does she go and do? She goes and supports them with their illegal activities. She did not feel proud about purchasing the illegal firearm, but just looking at a photo of her once happy and living family, and all of the guilt feelings vanished, the hate being the only residing emotion once more.

About a month ago, Anastasia had been waiting outside the building of Hiwatari Enterprises, and she once again had called the offices of Kai, the friendly lady informing her that he is currently in a meeting but that he will be done in about 30 minutes. Anastasia thought that _that_ was the perfect moment to schedule a meeting with Kai, and so she did it. Her plan was to go and meet him in his office, and then after a few minutes of talking, she was going to shoot him multiple times in the head and in the chest, not caring that she will go to jail for murder afterwards.

At least it will be worth it, but when the time came for her to go to the meeting, she just could not muster up enough courage to go through with it. She sat in the car, the gun in her hand, ready and full of bullets, but she was trembling like a leaf. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and she was sweating like a pig, and she just knew that she will not be able to go through with it. They will stop her before she even makes it to the elevator because anyone will be able to see that she is about to do something very bad, and very illegal, her demeanour being a dead giveaway.

So, she never made it to the meeting, and since that day she has not tried to schedule another meeting with Kai, knowing that once she gets there, she will once again chicken out; however she is still bent on killing Kai for what he had done to her.

It may take some time, but she will do it eventually; she will put a bullet in him, no matter how long it takes.

Anastasia continues dancing with the two guys, but soon the three of them are locked in a three – way with each other, making out like crazy, and although Anastasia had told her cousins earlier that she will go home with a guy, she has no intentions on going home with either of the two guys, but they just don’t know it yet.

Anastasia may seem drunk, but she is still fully aware of what is going on around her. She plans to ditch the two guys by going to the bathroom and then staying there until the club closes. She knows it is very dangerous to lead them on like this, but she just wants to forget about everything for a couple of hours, she just wants to get rid of all of the hate inside of her, even if it is just for a couple of hours. She just wants to feel free for a short while, before she goes back to her hate – filled life, filled with hate, pain and alcohol, and yes, she has been drinking a lot these past six months. She passes out almost every night, and usually wakes up with one ugly hangover, but it is just not bad enough for Anastasia to stop drinking; the numbing feeling of the alcohol makes her get through her hate filled day. If she didn’t find the taste of cigarettes so revolting, she probably would have taken up the disgusting habit also.

For now, she is just going to settle with some good old clubbing; nothing wrong with that.

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Cars are parked everywhere, music can be heard blasting over the speakers from within the Feniks Manor. Twice a year, a huge party is held for the members of The Chernyy Feniks, mostly for those that are working in other countries; it is also a time where Kai and his other partners that are in charge in their various fields come together and discuss the main business areas, the visit of them usually lasting for about two weeks before they all return to their respective places. The big party is usually on the second night, to ensure that everyone is present and that they can just enjoy themselves, although it does not mean that anyone can slack off on their jobs. Kai makes sure it is work first and then all play, that is after all, how he has been raised. Not everyone can always attend, seeing as they still have responsibilities, but this is usually just the personnel that are below the various leaders; truthfully, Kai does not really care about them, as long as the most important people are present, he could care less.

Most of the time, everyone resides at the Feniks manor, but others would rather stay with loved ones that are also residing within Moscow; but whatever they choose, the manor has more than enough room for everyone to stay over, especially since it has over 90 bedrooms and bathrooms.

The Feniks manor is a huge and magnificent three storey building. It consists of 90 bedrooms, four of them being main suites – two of them on the second storey, and two on the last floor; on the second storey, there is a suite situated at the end of each wing, and the same goes for third storey. The floors of the upper two storeys are covered in a dark red wine coloured carpet, and walking barefoot on this carpet is like walking on the smoothest, most gentle surface on the earth.

The lower lever, or the first storey, or ground floor, has beautifully designed marble tiles on the floor, instead of carpet, the reason for this being that blood is difficult to remove from a carpet, and yes, a lot of blood has been spilled within the walls of the Feniks manor. The ground floor has three main corridors, and also other largely built rooms, which includes a very large indoor swimming pool. The entertainment area, which is usually also the dining area, is the largest room in the entire manor, and this is usually where the party is held, but guests also wander the entire manor.

The manor has two studies, one on each storey except the top storey, but the studies are mostly for Kai and the other leaders’ use; the lower personnel do not really use it. The main study is also where the main meetings are held when it comes to doing business with the allies of the mob. Most of the rooms in the manor are big and one can easily get lost if one does not know his or her way around the manor, but the biggest place in the entire manor has to be underground, also known as The Chamber.

The Chamber is an entire level beneath the Feniks manor, build with sound proof walls, various halls, and many rooms, each serving a purpose of its own, mostly involving gruesome things, and it is also the favourite place of Kai, seeing as he loves to spend his time in The Chamber. When one usually hears something like a level that is situated underground, one would usually assume it is wet, and built with stones, and that it is overall a dirty place, but that is not the case with The Chamber.

Every room is tiled with white tiles, all four walls, including the floor, the reason for this being that it is the easiest way to wash away the blood and guts. The halls are also tiled white and it has excellent lighting, and there are no foul smells or grime on the tiles. If one did not know any better, one can easily mistake this place for a very sterile underground hospital.

However, there are four rooms that are anyone’s worst nightmare – Kai’s playrooms. So many people have died horrible and slow deaths within those four rooms, all by the hands of Kai. If there is one thing that Kai really loves, it is that of spilling blood. In these rooms there are various utensils that are used to torture the victims, including a chainsaw, a drill and a blowtorch, not to mention a barrel of hydrochloric acid and various knives.

The Chamber also has a crematorium for the burning of all of the bodies of the victims that have been killed here. There are so many members of The Chernyy Feniks that have never been in The Chamber because they have heard horrible stories about the place; stories like one can hear all of the screaming that goes on when one walks along the various halls.

The prisoners are always begging for mercy or to be released, but no one that has ever been captured and brought to The Chamber has left the place alive, and everyone in The Chernyy Feniks knows it, and they all know that it is best to stay loyal to The Chernyy Feniks, despite there being a few idiots every now and then that think they can outsmart The Chernyy Feniks, only to be surprised in the end, and then they die a horrible death.

The Chamber also has various store rooms where various weapons and guns of The Chernyy Feniks is being stored and they are all kept under tight security; no one can just walk in and demand whatever he wants because Kai does not want anything pointing back to his mob, and beware the poor soul that decides to go rogue with the weapons of The Chernyy Feniks.

Right now, in one of the four rooms of Kai’s playrooms, the mentioned young man is busy with bloody work, along with his accomplice, Brooklyn. There are also other two men present but they are only there to make sure that the prisoner does not try to do anything, not that he will succeed anyway.

Both Kai and Brooklyn are excellent fighters, their toned bodies a clear indication of that. Besides, the poor prisoner is in such a horrible condition right now that he will not be able to try anything. Kai and Brooklyn are currently busy disembowelling the poor man, the man dangling in the air from chains that are hanging from the ceiling. His mouth is covered, muffling his agonising screams. Brooklyn and Kai are just grinning the whole time, dressed only in a pair of black male sweat pants, and both of them have blood covered arms, the blood all belonging to their poor victim. Both of them are also wearing surgical gloves, safety first as Kai always says.

They have already managed to remove both kidneys and the liver of the poor man, which are on their way to a freezer. Kai knows of a few people that are involved with organ trafficking, so that is why they are removed. Brooklyn and Kai intend to remove all of the vital organs of the man that can be used, but right after they have the man’s intestines dangling from his stomach. Kai and Brooklyn can get very violent and sadistic when they torture a victim together, Brooklyn learning a lot from Kai, seeing as he has the same hunger for blood and torturing like Kai has. Any normal person will start throwing up at the horror that is taking place right now, but not the two men that are doing the torturing; for them it is almost a hobby, a fun time. They still have a long way to go before they finish off the poor man for good, as they still have a few horrendous things planned for their victim.

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Above ground of The Chamber, the party is in full swing, people dancing and drinking all around, everyone just having a good time. Tala is sitting leisurely on a huge comfortable couch, his wife, Alisia, sitting on his lap as both are conversing with Ray, Mikhail, Valerie and Ming-Ming, who are also leisurely sitting on a huge couch, just opposite Tala and Alisia. The couches are always brought into the area where the main party is so that the guests can just sit and relax and mingle when they don’t feel like dancing or going upstairs, or wandering the rest of the manor. The six friends are just catching up and laughing while casually drinking their drinks. 

Garland and Hilary are upstairs in one of the many rooms, busy with their own private party, a body party, and they have already informed the others that they will only see them tomorrow morning. The two have been hooking up constantly since that one night in Paris, although it is just a casual relationship. Hilary has broken up with her fiancé, and now she is just having casual sex with Garland whenever she can while enjoying her freedom.

“So, Ray, I hear you plan on expanding your club.”

“Yeah, but that won’t happen in the next two years. I am still not sure what I want exactly, all I know is that I want it bigger. I may even decide to open another one, only time will tell. Why, you looking for a job as one of my escorts, Alisia?” Ray asks the blonde haired woman with a sly smile on his face.

Tala immediately starts to choke on his drink, causing the others to laugh at him. Alisia just gently pats her husband on the back, trying to calm him down.

“Watch it, Ray; there is no way in hell my wife is going to become an escort.”

“Excuse me, my dear husband, but don’t I have a say in the situation?” she asks Tala, her free hand placed on her hip.

Tala just raises his eyebrows in shock at his wife, “You do know what it all entails in being an escort, right?”

“Of course I do, duh, that’s why I am asking.”

“But....but Alisia, am I not enough for you anymore?” Tala asks, almost sounding hurt.

Alisia appears to be very serious about the whole situation, “Ah, my dear sweet lovable husband,” she says in an innocent tone while wrapping her arm around her husband’s neck, “don’t take it personal; did you not always say that you will support me in everything, no matter what?”

“Yeah, but not this! I don’t think my poor heart will survive such a tragedy.”

Alisia just starts to laugh before placing a deep kiss on his mouth, and then pulling away with a smirk.

“Where in my right mind will I ever become an escort, Ivanov? You know that the only man for me will be you; always has been that way and it will always be that way, you know that right? And you also know that I have only been with one man, and that is you. I am not interested in being with other men, my dear darling.”

Tala just looks at his wife with a smirk when she had said that she had only been with one man, because they both know that _that_ is not the truth, Alisia also seeing the look in Tala’s eyes, knowing exactly what he is thinking after she had said that. She has also been with Kai; in fact, they both have slept with Kai, more than once, but that is a story for another day, and a story that will remain with the three friends until the day that they die.

Tala just returns back to his so-called shocked attitude of his wife wanting to become an escort, “Yeah, but you just sounded so serious, my love; I was really starting to worry.”

The two lovers just embrace each other, their friends just ‘awing’ about the love between the two, all except for one. Valerie just snorts at the pair, but not because it grosses her out, but because she is horny and she wants Kai, but he is too pre-occupied at the moment. Everyone knows that the first night of the get-together, Kai and Valerie always hook up, but tonight it is taking much longer for them to hook up, and Valerie does not find it funny at all.

“Relax, Val, I am sure that he and Brooklyn is almost done with whatever they are busy with.”

“He better be, otherwise I am going to leave him dry, just like he is leaving me dry at this moment. Couldn’t those two idiots wait till tomorrow for their torturing? Men and their egos,” is all she says while rolling her eyes and shaking her head from side to side, her crossed legs also indicating her growing impatience as her legs just cannot keep still.

The others just chuckle at Valerie’s pouted expression. The friends continue with their talking and making jokes, until one of Ray’s workers, Ian, passes the group of friends, Ray immediately getting an idea for a cruel joke.

“Yo, Ian,” Ray calls his employee, the short purple haired man quickly turning around to see who had called him. When he sees that it is Ray who had called him, he smiles and quickly walks towards Ray and his group of friends.

“Hey, boss, Tala, Mikhail, and you lovely ladies,” he says while a blush starts forming when he looks and greets the women. All three women return their friendliest and sincerest of smiles at Ian, because they all like the small purple haired man; they find him cute and gullible because of his size.

“How’s it going, Ian?”

“Can’t complain, boss; how about you guys?”

“All is good with us; hey, I was just wondering, would you like to take a walk with me and the guys?”

“Sure; where to?”

“The Chamber,” is all Ray says with a huge grin on his face. The others suddenly have to try very hard not to burst out laughing because the moment Ray said that name, the poor guy immediately went pale, scaring himself into a new blood group.

“The.....The Chamber? Err, sorry, but I just err....remembered Garland has sent me to get him some food,” Ian lies while rubbing the back of his neck, sweat beads already forming on his forehead.

“And where is Garland, Ian? I haven’t seen him for a while now?” Tala asks, his eyes showing a devious gleam within them.

“He....he is outside, chilling with the others.”

“That’s strange, because I could have sworn he had told us that he is going to spend the rest of the night in bed, doing Hilary.”

Ian gulps, realising that he has just been caught lying. Ray stands up and flings an arm around Ian’s neck, Ray smirking at his worker. He knows that Ian is scared shitless of The Chamber because he once had witnessed how Kai dismembered two guys with a chainsaw; the poor guy could not sleep or eat for almost four days.

Tala and Mikhail also gets up, ready to make their way down to The Chamber, along with Ray and a terrified Ian. Ray practically has to drag Ian down stairs, Ian not even trying to get out of the hold of Ray because he respects Ray too much.

After they reach The Chamber, Ray starts leading them to the room which he knows Kai is occupying at the moment, Ian already feeling like he can puke. The distinct sound of a chainsaw can be heard, and soon enough the men reach the room. Ray opens the door, but pushes in Ian first, the poor man witnessing another gruesome scene.

Brooklyn is holding a leg while Kai is busy cutting it into pieces. The floor is covered with human remains, the intestines and stomach contents of their victim laying all bloodied on a table. Ray, Tala and Mikhail come walking in at the exact moment when Ian starts to throw up. Kai and Brooklyn are so caught up in their task, that they do not even realise the extra audience, until Kai switches off the chainsaw. Both Kai and Brooklyn are covered in blood from head to toe, the room a complete mess, looking like a blood bath, literally and figuratively.

Brooklyn is the first to acknowledge their visitors when he throws the last piece of leg on to the floor. Kai also turns around to face them, blood dripping from his hair. He just glances into Ian’s direction, raising an eyebrow at how the man is busy puking his own guts out.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We just wanted to say hi, oh yeah, and also to scare the shit out of Ian.”

“Well, it isn’t shit that is coming out of him, that I can assure you guys,” Kai says dryly.

The others just snigger at how blunt Kai has said it. Tala, Ray and Mikhail do not seem unsettled at the scene in front of them; they have seen much worse coming from Kai and Brooklyn. This cutting up and disembowelment is considered old school with the two men.

“So, you guys done? Valerie is anxious to see you, Kai; I just thought that you should know.”

Kai just smirks at that, already knowing why she wants to him. Just the thought of her fills him with a strong sense of arousal. Kai places the bloody chainsaw on top of the table and instructs the other two men to start cleaning the room, before he makes his way out of the room, not even waiting for the others to follow. Ray supports a weak Ian, the small man feeling quite weak after puking so much. Kai makes his way over to the showers to wash off the blood, Brooklyn following, he just telling the others that they will meet them above ground in a few minutes.

After the guys arrive back upstairs, Ming-Ming and Valerie just embrace Ian, feeling sorry for him and trying their best to comfort him, the two women, including Alisia, just glaring at the three men for putting Ian through whatever horror they had that had made Ian this sick. The men of course just shrugs it off because they see it as a means of amusement for themselves, and it is not like they are ever going to admit it to the women; they love their manhood way too much.

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The party at the Feniks manor is still in full swing, the music on full blast over the speakers, everyone still having a good time, despite it already being in the early hours of the morning, as many continue to still dance and drink the night away, but for a certain long haired woman, she does not even notice the world around her. She is so caught up in her own world, a world filled with pleasure, so much that she just cannot focus on anything else.

Valerie is currently sitting on a single-seated couch in the suite in the west wing on the third floor, also known as Kai’s room. Her head is resting against the headrest of the couch, her hands gripping tightly on to the arm rests of the couch, her lips parted and her chest heaving, constant moaning coming from her. The reason: Kai is going down on her, pleasing her just the way she likes it, her legs wide open as Kai’s head is positioned between her legs, his lips and tongue licking and sucking all over, while his fingers are moving in and out of her wet cavern.

Both are naked, enjoying a good round of foreplay before they have their rough sex. Kai’s erection is almost becoming painful from arousal, pre-come dripping like a tab that has been opened, but he likes going down on Valerie, just as much as she likes it.

Valerie can feel she is nearing her end, Kai also noticing this as Valerie is starting to move her hips against his mouth, her hands starting to pull on his hair, and it does not take long before Valerie’s pelvic area arches up against Kai’s mouth, she pulling his hair very hard as she screams out his name in ecstasy while the clitoral orgasm courses through her body. Kai continues licking her, enjoying her wetness and enjoying the taste of her wetness. When the orgasm of Valerie finally passes, she falls back against the couch, heaving like she had just run for miles on end. Kai gives her clit a few more licks before lifting his head and looking at Valerie, his lips glistening of all of her wetness, but Valerie finds it very sexy, and just like that, she pulls Kai into a heated kiss, tasting herself, becoming aroused all over again.

Kai breaks the kiss and stands up, picking Valerie up in the process, she immediately wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, his arms also tightly around her body, as he walks towards the bed, both of them ready for a couple of hours of good sex. He places her on the bed, standing right in front of her, while both of their eyes shine with lust. Kai reaches for the drawer of his nightstand next to the bed and removes the foil packet which contains the condom, but Valerie decides that tonight she wants to put it on, so Kai allows her. She opens the foil packet and proceeds to slide the rubber slowly and sensually down his very erect penis, a soft grunt coming from Kai as he just closes his eyes for a few seconds, enjoying the feel of her hands as they slowly move down his member, teasing him.

After the condom is on securely, Valerie takes her place on the bed, on all fours, glancing over her shoulder and waiting in anticipation as Kai also gets on the bed, and then he positions himself right behind her. Valerie is already griping the sheets, she trying to get control over herself, but she just cannot wait any longer; she wants Kai to slam himself into her as hard as he possibly can, and she wants it to happen now. She feels how Kai’s strong large manly hands grip her hips, holding on to them firmly. Valerie can already feel her cavern pulsing with lust, feeling how her wetness is flowing down her thighs, because she is beyond aroused at this movement. 

Kai places the head of his erection at her entrance, and without any warning, he slams into her, Valerie gasping out at the motion. Kai immediately starts to thrust with intensity, hard, deep and fast because this is how he and Valerie loves their sex with each other: rough, so rough that it is almost at the point of becoming painful, but luckily it has never reached that stage.

The sound of skin hitting against skin, the thrusting into a wet cavern, can be heard clearly; the moaning of Valerie, and grunting of Kai just adding to the already sexually charged room. With every thrust, Kai grunts, enjoying the feel of how deep he is inside of Valerie, and with every thrust into her, she clenches her inner cavern around his member, this adding to the already intense fire burning within her. Valerie is luckily one of those women that can come very quick, and she can come about three to four times in a session, excluding the foreplay, but by the time she is done, she is completely weak and drained, making her immobile for a couple of hours, and luckily for her, Kai has stamina, and he can go on for quite a while before he reaches his peak.

Not long after the very first thrust, both of them can feel how their bodies are starting to become clammy, but it does not bother them; soon Kai will switch on the air conditioning when none of them can take the heat anymore. Neither of them are paying any attention to the music coming from down stairs and the people laughing and having a good time, because they are having a much better time with each other than the party will ever be able to offer them.

The two lovers want to catch up for all the time they have missed with each other so far, and it is not like they are in love with each other; they just enjoy the sex. When they are not with each other, both Valerie and Kai have sex with other people, especially Kai; he will never be able to imagine a life without sex; for him it is almost as important as breathing, and that is saying a lot.

Kai continues to thrust hard into Valerie, and it does not take too long for her to reach her orgasm, her cavern clenching even tighter around Kai’s member, he enjoying the feel of her release on him, enjoying the extra wetness of his lover. Valerie continues to moan until her orgasm subsides, her heaving also sounding like that of a moan, and when it finally passes, she just relaxes completely, leaning onto her arms, Kai taking this opportunity to also rest for a while before he is going to take her once more, this time in another position.

They only do it in the positions that they know will give them maximum penetration, Kai wanting to hit her g-spot constantly, so the next position most probably will be the wheel-barrow, a personal favourite of Kai. That is the main reason why there is a large oak desk in the room, solely for that position.

Kai removes himself after giving Valerie enough time to rest and then proceeds to pick her up from the bed, carrying her to the desk, and placing her right in front of the desk, where she turns around so that her back is facing him. She bends over the desk, the surface already covered with a soft surface. Kai proceeds to lift her right leg, the leg bending at the knee whilst he holds it tightly by the ankle, his left hand taking hold of her left hip into a firm grip, and with one thrust, he is at once fully immersed within Valerie once more, the aggressive, yet very pleasurable, thrusting beginning all over again, both lovers experiencing their blissful pleasures.

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She is lost, out of touch with reality, out of touch with the present, the music being her only focus, her only life support. The trance music is placing her in a completely different world, where nothing and no one matters; no feelings of hate, no thoughts of revenge, no thirst for murder. All that is left is the flow of the beat, making every living cell within her body dance and move along with the beat of the music. The swaying of her body, feeling the positive aura around her, embracing her, caressing her and making love to her. Here she has no name, no heartache, no past, no present and no future; she is one with the music and the music is one with her. She is sharing this world with others, but yet, they are all still on their own, allowing the music to take them far away from whatever challenges they are facing in their life this very moment.

No one has the desire to disturb another, to corrupt their peaceful space, causing unnecessary tension for all is one now. A society of their own where there is no judgement, no hurting, no sadness, no negative feelings; only love, happiness, calmness of the soul and a peace of mind, a blissful place where music is the oxygen keeping everyone alive, the laser lights the only source of light in their lives at this very moment, the dance floor their only true companion.

No drug will ever be able to give this high, no matter how many different types of drugs are mixed, the music being everyone’s drug, a drug that does no harm to the body or to the mind. The music is soothing everyone’s soul, healing whatever is broken within them, making them forget all about their struggles and sorrows of the past and present, and transporting them all to a place filled with true happiness.

Anastasia is just dancing on her own in a different club than the previous one she was at earlier the night, lucky to dodge the two horny guys that she was dancing with, and the club she is in right now is a place where she has found peace for her battered soul and heart, making her forget all about her murdered family, and all about Kai.

Gone is the goal of getting completely wasted because she would much rather get drunk on the music alone, and nothing else. The club is only playing trance music, putting everyone in a trance of relaxation and peace. Anastasia knows that no one will disturb her here, or try to make a move on her because everyone is so focused on the music that they are not paying attention to anyone else, and that is exactly just what she needs right now. She feels alone but she is welcoming it, the loneliness making her feel like herself for a change, something she has not felt for a very long time. Tonight she is once again Anastasia Grekov, the happy and carefree 20 – something student, just enjoying life and wanting to have a good time all of the time, and also who just enjoys being herself.

Tonight, Anastasia Grekov has been raised from the dead, even if it is just for one night, and she is going to enjoy every moment of it in this club, a sanctuary for many just like her, all of them just being so tired and exhausted from all the bitch slaps that life has dealt them so far, and that she continues dealing to them.

Tonight, nothing is going to stand in her way from being herself once more, for when the sun rises in the morning, she will be gone, dead, along with her murdered family, and all that will remain of Anastasia Grekov will be the hateful, vengeful and bitter part of her, the one whose soul has turned black and whose heart has turned to coal, for that is what she must have if she wants to avenge the death of her family, and she will succeed in doing it, no matter how long it takes. Kai Hiwatari will die by her hand.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – the key meeting

The sun is shining brightly but the temperatures are freezing because once again, winter has embraced Moscow, and its embrace is not that of a gentle one; it is harsh and it is brutal. Anastasia is just standing in front of the tombstones of her murdered family, today being the first anniversary of their death, and although a year has already passed, the pain is still as horrible and raw as it was in the beginning. That crap of time heals all wounds is just a bunch of shit that someone came up with because the idiot had nothing else to say to soothe someone.

She is dressed in all black – black blouse with two thin straps tied up in front, black skinny jeans, the lower parts tucked in knee high heeled boots, also black, a thick wool scarf wrapped around her neck, black wool mittens, rounded off with a black trench coat that reaches her calves; the only thing not black of her whole attire is that of her grey beanie on her head. Her attire fits her mood perfectly, and black has also become her favourite colour. Anastasia mostly wears black now a day. Her bike that she has inherited from Vladimir she has also transformed completely black; even her truck, the F – 150 SVT Raptor is black along with black rims. She originally wanted it to be Toledo blue but in the end she changed her mind, the colour black speaking the most to her soul. She use to like bright colours, the bright colours suiting her personality the best, but since the old Anastasia has died along with her family, it seems only right that a new type of colour takes its place in her new life.

There is a light breeze blowing, causing Anastasia’s blonde hair to gently sway in the breeze, her long blonde hair that she has left untied; she is hardly bothered with the cold. Her spring green coloured eyes are glazed over, giving her an almost lost look, which she is, or that is how she feels anyway. Anastasia has already been standing here in front of the tombstones for about ten minutes now, her hands remaining in the pockets of her trench coat. She has placed a deep red coloured rose on each grave, a tear along with each rose.

“Every day I wake up, hoping and praying that everything was just a horrible nightmare, but as soon as I wake up completely, I realise that it is not a nightmare, that it is real, and that it is my life. You guys are really gone, and no matter how much I wish that I can turn back time, to stop this from ever happening, I know that it will never happen because that is not how life works. I know that you guys wouldn’t want me to be sad, that you would want me to keep on smiling and laughing like I always had, but I have to disappoint you guys in that aspect because that will never happen. The joy has been taken from me, and the only way to ever get it back is if I kill the one that had done this to you. Vladimir, I am sorry that I had to disappoint you by gaining an illegal fire arm, but it is the only way, my dear brother. I have to avenge your deaths. That is the right thing to do, the only thing to do, and unfortunately, the law has failed you, my dear brother. The law that you had fought so hard to protect has failed you in the end; it has allowed your killer to get away, and that is why I have to take the law into my own hands. Please forgive me.”

Anastasia is so focused on talking to her dead family, that she does not hear the two different sets of footsteps slowly walking toward her, slowly and cautiously approaching the three Grekov gravesites. It is Elena and Dmitri, the two siblings carrying three bouquets of flowers with them to place on the Grekovs’ graves. Although the three cousins have made peace with each other, Anastasia is still leaving them out of her life, only mingling with them once a month, if they are lucky.

Anastasia only realises that someone is there when Elena softly calls out ‘Ana’, the mentioned young woman turning to face her cousin, a soft, yet sad, smile greeting both Elena and Dmitri. Elena is the first to hug her cousin, the tears quickly forming in both women’s’ eyes. The two women continue to hold each other for a while longer before Elena steps back so that Dmitri can also hug his cousin, the tears no longer fighting to not leave Anastasia’s eyes, as they freely make their way down her cheeks. While Dmitri and Anastasia are holding each other, Elena places the one bouquet of flowers on to Alisa Grekov’s grave; Dmitri has two bouquets of flowers, one for Vladimir and the other for Ivan.

After the flowers have been placed on each grave, the three cousins stand side by side, in complete silence, just looking at the graves, each one lost in their own thoughts. Both Elena and Dmitri are also dressed for the winter, but unlike Ana, they did not opt for the black colour. They have on various shades of brown, Elena the one wearing the white trench coat.

Anastasia’s birthday had been about three months ago where she had turned 23, but she did not allow anyone to come and visit her to wish her a happy birthday. Her aunt, Elena and Dmitri’s mother, had invited her to a dinner that she was holding specially for her niece, but Anastasia had kindly declined it, and although everyone understood that it was her first birthday since the death of her family, it still saddened them all that she prefers to spend the day on her own, that just adding fuel to the fire, and in this case the fire is Anastasia’s ever growing dark and brooding personality.

Elena even suggested that just she and Anastasia go on holiday to any tropical place where the weather is warm and where there is beach filled with sexy guys, but just like the other propositions she has made, Anastasia also turned it down.

What no one knows is that Anastasia has been hanging out in a trance club almost every night, the same one that she had found about six months ago, and she just goes there to dance, nothing else. Anastasia has thought of finding a job, hoping that maybe it will help take her mind off of her family, and off of Kai, but when the time came where she had to start typing her CV, she decided to hell with it. She does not need the money, and she has better things to do with her time than to work for someone who will just irritate her in the end, so the idea of her finding a job has flown right out of the window, along with the idea of forgetting about Kai and what he has done to her family.

Anastasia has also finally realised that she is hurting all of her cousins, aunts and uncles by constantly shutting them out, and she has realised that they too have lost loved ones and that they are also still hurting, but she just cannot bring herself to the point of asking them for help, emotional, psychological and physical help. Her pride does not allow it, not that she has had a pride problem in the past; the pride problem has started after the deaths of her family. 

The three cousins continue to stand in silence in front of the graves, until Anastasia decides to break the silence, “Do you guys feel like getting an early lunch with me?”

To say that Elena and Dmitri is shocked will be an understatement as they just look at their cousin, shocked that she has just suggested something like that all on her own. Anastasia just starts to laugh at their shocked faces, and soon the laughter turns into one huge fit of almost hysterical laughter, the tears streaming from Anastasia’s eyes as she clutches her stomach, her face almost red from laughing so hard.

Elena and Dmitri cannot help but laugh along with Anastasia, the siblings happy to see her like this again. It really has been too long since they have seen Anastasia this happy, and for a short while, it feels like they have their beloved Anastasia back, the carefree and happy one, the young woman that is just filled with love for life, the Anastasia that they have missed so much.

Finally the laughter of the three subsides, Anastasia still wiping the tears from her eyes, “Man, I can’t remember the last time I had laughed so hard; my poor stomach is still hurting. Thanks, you guys; I really needed that.”

“Us? How did we help?”

“Your faces when I asked you guys to join me for lunch; you guys looked like you had seen a ghost strip in front of you; it was really funny,” Anastasia says while chuckling once more, thinking back to their shocked faces, “but anyway, you did not answer my question.”

“Of course, Ana! My dear sister and I will be complete idiots if we do not join you. It has been so long since the three of us had done something fun, but enough sad stories. To the cars we go!” Dmitri exclaims in a joking manner while taking up a pose as a supposed super hero, much to the amusement of the two women.

Elena and Anastasia just snigger at Dmitri’s antics, and then the young male starts to walk ahead of the two women, so that he can go get the car started. Anastasia has arrived with her truck so she will be driving ahead of them, choosing the place where they will have lunch.

“Thanks for inviting us for lunch, Ana; we really appreciate it.”

“I should be thanking you; I know I have not been myself for a very long time and I don’t know whether I will ever be the same, but I am going to try, alright?”

“Sounds alright to me; we can take it one step at a time, at any pace that you are comfortable with.”

“Thanks, cuz.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Dmitri is already at the car, leaning against it with his arms crossed in front of his chest, a huge grin on his face.

“And why are you showing us your teeth? It looks like your teeth are feeling hot.”

Dmitri just pretends to not to hear the sarcasm in his sister’s voice, and continues grinning at the two women.

“Okay, seriously; did you just have a wet dream while being awake?”

“Ana!” both Elena and Dmitri exclaim at the same time.

Anastasia just acts all surprised about them calling out her name like that, while just asking ‘what?’, “He does look like he had some happy time with himself, and none of you can deny it.”

“Well, you got me there, but guess what; now that we are going to hang out, I have decided that I am going to share some sleazy sex stories with you.”

That earns Dmitri to get slapped on the arm by his sister, Elena just glaring at him. Anastasia just smirks at her two cousins, only realising now how much she has really missed them all.

“Just get in the car, you horny horn dog idiot.”

“Are you also this demanding and dominating in the bedroom, my dear sister? Are you a dominatrix?”

“Dmitri!”

“Ana, can I drive with you; I am afraid that my sister is going to murder me along the way.”

Anastasia just chuckles, “Sorry cuz, but you brought this on yourself. See you guys at the restaurant,” and with that Anastasia turns around, heading towards her truck, silently chuckling to herself as she hears Elena scold her brother for all that he is worth.

‘I really hope that I will be my old self again, one day, but the way I am feeling right now, I highly doubt it,’ and with that thought she finally gets in to her truck and then starts to drive off after starting up the engine, her two cousins following her, Elena still being very pissed at her brother while he just continues to grin at her as they follow Anastasia.

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It is night time in the capital city of Russia, and Kai and Tala are currently sitting behind a desk in the main study at the Feniks manor, busy with a meeting with a very powerful politician in the Russian government, the politician holding 13 folders with him, 10 of them on his right side, and the other three on his left side. He wants to hire the services of The Chernyy Feniks, and three of the services he wants either Kai or Tala to handle personally.

“These people in these files,” the politician says as he pushes the ten files towards Kai and Tala, “will all be running for president, their campaigning beginning in a year’s time, and I do not want that to happen.”

“I see, so you want them all dead?”

“Not necessarily, Mr Ivanov; they can either die in a so-called accident, they can be framed for corruption, they can develop an illness, they can be involved in a horrible scandal, I don’t really care; as long as they do not start with their campaigns.”

“It will be no problem, Mr Kournikova, and I assume that you want all of this to happen in the next year?”

“Correct, Mr Ivanov, and how will we do the payments?”

“I will contact you after every person has been taken care of in which ever way, and then we will discuss an amount, so for now, do not worry about any payments.”

“Very well; now these three,” Kournikova says as he pushes the last three remaining files towards the two men, all three containing photos with families in them, “I want them dead.”

“Just the adult men?”

“No, Mr Ivanov, the entire family; women and children included.”

Just then Tala moves the three files towards Kai, leaving the man from across them very confused, Tala not missing it, “With all due respect, Mr Kournikova, I do not kill women and children, but Mr Hiwatari has no problem with it.”

“Very well, as long as they are killed.”

“And the time frame for their deaths?”

“Also a year, Mr Hiwatari; I know that you have the best assassins that money can buy, but I would be much more comfortable if you take care of it personally. That way I know that it will be done without any complications, and I want it to look like murder because I want to send a message to a few people, and I want them to hear the message loud and clear.”

Kai just nods his head at the politician, showing that he is willing to do it just as Kournikova is requesting.

“Excellent,” the politician says as he claps his hands together, “You must think that I am very corrupt.”

“Corruption is our daily lives, Mr Kournikova; here at The Chernyy Feniks we do not judge anyone for what they want from us, so do not feel like a bad person in our presence. We are here to help and support those that are on the opposite side of the law.”

“And I appreciate that a lot, Mr Ivanov, but anyway, I believe that both of you are just as busy as I am, so I will not be taking up any more of your time. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

“Likewise, Mr Kournikova.”

The politician gets up from his chair, Tala following suit; Kai remains seated for now, just leaning back into his chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“I will walk with you, Mr Kournikova.”

The politician just bows his head in gratitude, and also to greet Kai, Kai returning the gesture with an expressionless face. Kai continues to watch as Tala and the man walks out of the study, and when he is certain that he is alone, Kai takes the three files that contains the details of the families that he has to assassinate.

Each photo depicts a very happy family as everyone is smiling and the love for the life is shining in all of their eyes, including the small children’s’ eyes. The first family consists of both parents, and three daughters, two teenagers and the other one 8 years old; the second family also has both parents, another teenage daughter and a small boy, 2 years and 9 months old; the third family does not have a mother present, only the father with a boy and a girl, both children being 16 years old, Kai assuming that they are twins, although they do not look identical.

Kai has no feelings of hesitation in killing the three families; for him, no one is off limits from getting killed, unlike Tala. Kai has killed women and children before, some with his own bare hands, and he still manages to sleep peacefully afterwards. These three families will be no different to him, Kai already planning on how he wants to kill them all.

Kai has never cared for a family, because he has never had the pleasure of feeling the love that comes from parents, and although Oksana and Ralph have tried their best to shower him with parental love, it was not just the same. He does not even miss his own parents, because how can he miss something that he had never known, and although there are days that he misses his grandfather very much, he does not let it spoil his mood whatsoever. He is after all the main reason why his grandfather is no more among the land of the living.

Kai takes out a cigarette and lights it while once again looking at the three files in front of him. All of their personal information is there, like the full names of each member of the family, their date of birth, where they work, the schools that the children are attending, where they were born, their physical addresses of both their homes and work places, contact details, everything being available for Kai’s use. Kai first wants to scout their home addresses, seeing how the neighbourhood looks like and whether there will be places for him to hide himself should he decide to kill them in their homes, and after that he will start planning exactly on how he is going to kill them all, although he has already thought of a few possibilities.

Halfway through his cigarette, Tala finally comes back in, taking his seat once again next to Kai to look at the various files. He and Kai will have to read each and every file thoroughly so that they can plan on how they will handle each person, and what they will do to them to ensure their removal from running for president. At least they have more than enough time to plan each one’s down fall. 

“Since we have enough time, I am going to leave, Kai. I am kind of freezing my balls off and the only way to heat them is to be between Alisia’s legs, you know?” Tala jokes with a goofy and cheeky grin on his face, and Kai just smirks at his red headed friend.

“Go on, Ivanov, go warm up your golden jewels; it will be such a tragedy to the world if something horrible should happen to them.”

“Finally! Someone that gets my predicament! Any who, I guess we can meet up tomorrow or over the weekend to start the planning.”

Kai just nods his head while Tala gets up, putting on his cream coloured hooded trench coat.

“Well then, let me go rescue my balls.”

“Enjoy it, Ivanov.”

And with one last smile in his friend’s direction, Tala leaves the study, heading home to his wife. Kai also gets up to pour himself a glass of vodka before taking up his seat once more, and then starts to look through all 13 files, coming up with possible ideas that he will discuss with Tala the next time he sees him, and then to hear his input about it all. Kai has no plans for the rest of the evening so he might as well work, a thing he really loves with a passion, and many have already told him that he is a workaholic, something that he cannot deny, even if he wants to.

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It has already been a month since Anastasia had met her two cousins at her family’s graves, and in the past month the three of them have been having fun just like they always did in the past. She has even introduced them to the trance club that she has been going to almost every night and just like Anastasia, both Elena and Dmitri have fallen in love with the club and the music. Dmitri even managed to find himself a girlfriend in the club and they have already been dating for a week now, all thanks to Anastasia.

The three cousins have been spending a lot of time together, almost every day, but today Anastasia has decided that she wants some time alone because she is starting to feel drained from spending so much time with other people. Whenever she is with her cousins, Anastasia tries her best to be the old Anastasia, when in fact it is not who she wants to be, so that is why she is feeling so drained. She just wants some time on her own, doing what she wants without having to explain her actions to anyone, and that is why she is currently walking around in a shop that sells Goth merchandise. The Goth society has always intrigued her but not enough to become a part of the cult. Back in America, she has only been to four Goth parties in total, and all she can really say about it all, is that the experience was somewhat very insightful.

As Anastasia continues to casually look through the different clothes, she cannot help but eavesdrop on a conversation that is currently taking place between three Goths, two guys and a girl, which are standing only a few feet away from Anastasia. She decides that she wants to hear more after hearing the word ‘party’, and so casually strolls towards them, pretending like she does not see them at all.

“Are you sure that this is where the party is at, Kiryl?”

“Of course; the message clearly says it is in the Konkovo district, just behind the old warehouse.”

“But there is nothing but old abandoned buildings.”

“Well duh, Olya, it is so that all unwanted guests stay out of it. It is enough they want to copy us just for fun, they can’t also have the opportunity to suck out all of the fun out of our parties.”

“All right, fine; I guess I will meet you guys there or what?”

“Maybe we can grab some dinner before we leave, I mean, the party only starts at 11 PM, so there is more than enough time to get ready and to relax before the huge party.”

“I hope it is just like the one of last year; that was epic!”

The three start to laugh, like they all are suddenly remembering a specific memory at the same time.

“Yeah, that was one unforgettable night, so let’s hope that tonight is the same.”

The three continue to talk, but Anastasia is no longer interested in their conversation. She has heard all that she wants to hear, and she is pleased, an almost ghostly smirk on her face.

‘Looks like I am going to go to a party tonight, and not just any party, a Goth party! Well, looks like I just came to the right place. Not only have I heard about an awesome party, but I can finally buy some awesome clothes and wear them without anyone branding me as a Satan worshipper,’ Anastasia thinks to herself, and once again starts to look around the shop, and this time she is being more focused, not just scanning the various clothes and Goth accessories.

She finally ends up buying the coolest black clothes. She has bought a long sleeved black shirt with a collar, but what is different about this shirt, is that it is not buttoned up by buttons but instead it is closed with five straps, running diagonally over the shirt, the buckles of the belt almost looking like a faded gold, the sleeves also having the wide straps on, three on each sleeve but only the upper parts, and they are mostly just for decoration. Overall, the shirt looks very bad ass and it suits Anastasia perfectly.

Next up are the leather pants: they are sitting tight on her, almost like skinny jeans but just way sexier. The outer upper parts of the pants are tied up in an almost corset look with deep red coloured laces, exposing the skin slightly of her upper legs; it does not have a zipper and no belt loops because it is in the form of a hipster, minus the zip. In the place of the zip are also red laces, again tying up just like at the sides of the leather pants.

Next up is the trench coat because it is still winter and there is no use in killing herself over a party by freezing herself to death. The trench coat is a hooded one, also black, but very stylish. It has very distinct patterns on it that are not easily visible to the eye, but it still adds to the coat. It is somewhat tight fitting, showing off Anastasia’s natural curves and it reaches just above her ankles. The whole hood is covered with a fur type material, giving it that effect of a fur coat, and at her wrists are also that fur type of material, the whole coat being rounded off with the two fur straps that goes over the coat in the front, should Anastasia want to close it. 

The shoes is the part Anastasia is the most excited about to wear for the party tonight. They are knee high boots, high heeled and very sexy, and also black of course. The front side of the boots, from the area where the ankle is, all the way up, are straps, almost the exact same as her shirt. At the back is again the corset effect, this time tied up with a deep red coloured lace, giving it an almost vampire effect.

Overall, the entire outfit looks incredibly sexy, and she can hardly wait to test it out at the party. Anastasia has also bought other accessories, like the make-up, jewellery, and gloves for her hands. She has already decided that she is going to leave with her bike, the bike just adding to her ‘bad girl’ image. Anastasia has no intention of colouring her hair black, maybe just add a few black and deep red coloured highlights in the front, but she still wants to keep her natural hair colour.

‘This is going to be a night I am going to remember for the rest of my life. It may be in a bad area, but who cares; I am not going to allow that to spoil my night. Tonight is going to be all about me, and to hell with the rest of the world,’ Anastasia thinks to herself with a huge grin on her face while paying for the clothes.

After finishing her payment of the clothes, Anastasia takes the bags after waving goodbye to the clerk with a huge grin, gets in her truck and then drives off, heading to the nearest hair salon so that she can get highlights in her hair, and also to get her nails done, long black nail extensions seeming like a very good idea to her at this moment.

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Night time has finally fallen upon the capital city of Russia, and although it is cold, it is a clear night with no clouds in the air, and luckily there will also be no snow fall for a while, despite the streets being covered with snow that has fallen up until now. So many people are just in their houses, just looking for the warmth of their inner heating systems and the comfort and heat of their beds, or sofas, depending on which one they prefer the most.

In the Ivanov household it is not much different, but here they are looking for the heat and comfort of each other’s bodies, and they are currently finding it on a single seated couch, the sounds of heavy panting and moaning being heard from the couch. Tala is sitting on the couch, naked, with his wife, Alisia, on top of him, straddling his hips while moving her pelvic area against his, the two making hot and passionate love to each other, but if one can listen to the sounds and look at how sweaty they are, it won’t be long before they both reach their peak as it is clear that they have been busy for quite a while now.

Alisia’s blonde strands are already clinging to her naked and sweaty back, her hands on Tala’s shoulders as she continues with her moving. Tala has his hands on her hips, gripping them in a firm grip while his head is resting against the headrest of the couch, as he looks on at how his wife’s breasts bounce with every thrust into her body. His hair is also clinging to the sides of his face, the two horns of him being long gone, he now being in his natural hair style, sleek hair that reaches just above his shoulders, his hair colour ranging from a mixture between garnet and scarlet, depending on the lighting in which he finds himself, like right now it is garnet because he and Alisia are sitting in the living room, the fire place and a few candles the only sources of illumination in the room.

“I....I am going to.....aahhh.....Alisia.....”

“Mmmmmm.......”

And then it happens, both husband and wife reach their climax at the same time, their bodies contracting at the same time, the two lovers enjoying the journey of absolute bliss together, and soon enough, it passes for both of them, Alisia collapsing onto her husband, her hands hanging limp beside her body as her head rests on his right shoulder, Tala also pressing his slightly sweaty head against his wife’s head, both of them heaving severely, the two exhausted from their love making session. 

No words are spoken between the two for a while, the both of them just enjoying the feel of their lover’s flushed body pressed up against their own. The only sound that can be heard are that of the crackling noises coming from the fire place as the fire continues to consume the logs of wood, devouring it.

“I love you, my red headed berry.”

Tala just chuckles at his wife’s latest nick name for him, a new one and a very original one he might add, “Berry, huh; quite original.”

“Of course, my love; what else did you expect,” Alisia replies while sitting up slightly, perching her left elbow up gently on Tala’s chest, while resting her head on her left closed hand, fist if you would, just looking into the eyes of her husband, smiling at him, Tala also just smiling back at his beautiful wife.

“You married the master of originality, duh.”

“Master of originality? Don’t you mean master of craziness?”

“Hey!” Alisia exclaims while slapping Tala softly on his chest.

He just pulls her into a tight hug, Alisia just getting lost in the comfort of being in the strong arms of her husband.

“I love you too, my walking ad for the loony bin,” Tala whispers against the hair of Alisia, she just sniggering at her nickname from Tala.

The two continue sitting like this, just listening to the crackling in the fire place, and a few minutes’ passes before Alisia sits up straight once more, just looking at her husband.

“What’s wrong?

“Nothing; I were just thinking, we should do this more often because when the baby comes, nights and moments like these will be gone, like in until the day they leave the house, but by that time we both will be so wrinkled and ugly, there will be no way we will be able to do this, and besides, our bones won’t even allow it. My hips will break before I even get on top of you,” she says while laughing to herself, Alisia already envisioning herself in that hilarious scenario.

Tala on the other hand, has already stopped listening after she has said the word ‘baby’, he grinning like a mad man.

“What’s wrong with you? Did you just fart?! I swear, Ivanov, if you.....

“No, silly; are we having a baby? Are you pregnant?”

“What? Oh, no, I am not. I were just thinking ahead, that’s all, but while we are on that topic, I know I had said that I only want to have my first child when I am 30, but now a day, I am not so sure.”

“What do you mean?” Tala asks while sensually stroking the arms of Alisia, causing a shudder of pleasure to course through her body.

“What if we try for a baby in about two years’ time, that is, if you want to?”

Tala just cannot resist beaming at Alisia’s suggestion, she already knowing the answer by just the look on his face.

“I take that as a yes?”

Tala just nods, once again pulling his wife into a tight embrace, the two kissing, which does not take long before it once again turns into a very heated make-out session, which finally leads to the two making love once more on the couch, all while the fire continues burning and heating up the living room.

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Anastasia is on her bike, fully dressed in her sexy new attire, and ready for the party, although it is quite a distance that she has to drive before she can get into her party mode. Her whole attire suits her perfectly, even though her face is not visible because of the helmet; only her blonde hair is visible from underneath the helmet, her hair swaying freely in the wind as she races down the street.

She had put in a few coloured highlights into her hair and her nails is also done, long nail extensions, black at the bottom going up in an ombre manner, the tips being dark purple with a light purple rose in the middle, the nails finishing off the entire Goth look.

Anastasia approaches a red robot and comes to a standstill, but the next second, another bike stops next to her, a black and silver coloured Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, and immediately Anastasia’s attention is drawn towards the bike. She cannot help herself, and just looks at the magnificent metal beast, her love for bikes running just as deep as it is running for muscle cars and trucks.

She does not even notice the person sitting on the bike, but that is until the person decides to ref the engine of the bike, this action catching Anastasia’s immediate attention. She looks at the driver but cannot see the person’s face, although she can make out the helmet of the person, it being just as gorgeous as the bike. She can immediately tell that it is a tall person, just by looking at the leg that is extended to keep both the driver and the bike balanced, and also by the upper body of the driver.

Anastasia also revs her engine, and just like that, a mutual and silent agreement is made between the two, an agreement to race as soon as the light turns green.

Anastasia takes her position, getting ready to drive off; she glances to her side and sees that the other person has also gotten into position, and she quickly deducts from the outfit of the person that he is a male, his upper body looking a bit buff through the black leather jacket, along with the dark blue jeans, and black bike boots. His helmet is also black, but a black phoenix with golden mane hair is designed on the helmet, and she almost finds it a tragedy that she cannot see his face, although she is sure that he will not be bad looking at all if his body is anything to go by, along with the bike and his whole attire, it giving off that ‘bad boy’ aura.

Anastasia turns her attention back to the robots, and suddenly starts to feel how her pulse is starting to race, adrenaline starting to pump through her veins as she is waiting in anticipation for the light to turn green. She looks at the other robots, seeing them changing from green to orange, knowing that the time has finally arrived. She and the other person both rev their engines one more time, and then the light finally turns green, the screeching of tyres being heard through the roar of the iron horses’ engines, both bikes leaving a black trail behind where the back wheel of their bikes has just spun away.

Luckily for the two bikers, there are no other cars on the street as they race down the street, both bikes being head to head in the race. Anastasia knows that her bike will lose because she only has a 750cc, where the other bike is a 1000cc, but she will not let it prevent her from enjoying this race.

The two continue down the street at an incredible speed, the fear of getting caught by the traffic police far at the back of their minds for now. They both see a car approaching in the distance, and just as they are about to reach it, they both just swerve out, just hearing the honking of the car as they pass it by, Anastasia just smiling to herself, knowing full well that whoever is in that car, is definitely yelling a few cuss words and rude remarks in her and the other guy’s way right now for being so irresponsible.

The wind and air is cold against her, but Anastasia is having so much fun right now, her beautiful blonde hair just swaying in the wind at the back of her, her hands gripping the handles tightly with her leather gloves. Another set of robots are approaching fast and she can see that they are red. She wants to slow down because she does not feel like dying in a bike accident tonight, but for some unknown reason, an unknown force has just taken over her entire body and mind, as Anastasia leans down and pulls on the throttle, increasing her speed. She is going to take a chance and race over the red light, and apparently the other person has the same idea as she has, as he too increases his speed and also lays flat onto his bike, and follows suit over the red light.

They are just a few feet away from the robot and it is still red, and from the corner of her right eye, Anastasia can clearly see a car coming, this resulting in her to increase the speed even more, she being head to head with the other bike, they both bolting over the red light, the oncoming car hitting on its breaks so hard that screeching of tires is all that can be heard. Neither of the two dares to look back, their incredible high speed not allowing it at the moment, neither of them showing any sign of slowing down.

The street that they are driving on is luckily a straight street with the next set of robots a good distance away, but on this street there are more cars, the two bikes swerving in and out between the various cars, the cars just honking at the two bikers. There is still about a quarter of a mile left, and luckily for the two bikers, this last part is clear of any cars, and once again, Anastasia pulls on her throttle, this resulting in her to take the lead, even if it is with an inch or so, but unfortunately for her, the other person also pulls on his throttle, the 1000cc kicking in and finally showing why it is a better and faster bike, he taking the lead, and not with just an inch or so. All Anastasia can do as look at the tail light of the bike as it overtakes her, she smiling to herself about how she just got her ass handed to her.

They reach the robots, Anastasia a few seconds behind the other, but they do not stop completely at the green light. Instead, the two start to circle each other, the constant revving of the engines being heard clearly, a sound that Anastasia can never get enough of, a sound that speaks not only to her soul, but also to her spirit, a sound that makes her body feel alive, feeling one with the bike. They continue to circle each other, the adrenaline pumping like a life line within their veins.

Suddenly Anastasia realises that this is her turn here, where she has to go to the party, and a sudden sadness comes over her, knowing that she has to part ways from the mysterious guy, and she does not want to because she has really enjoyed this little race. Maybe they will see each other again in the future, something Anastasia will be all too glad about. She just waves to the guy and shows him that she has to head in the right direction, the guy just nodding his head, as he has to head in the opposite direction. With a last nod, Anastasia leaves in to her direction, and the guy in to his, the two wondering whether they will ever run into each other ever again.

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At the Hiwatari manor, a black and silver coloured Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R comes driving up the drive way, heading to the garage. Kai parks his bike, removes his black helmet with the black phoenix with the golden mane hair on it, and places the helmet in the cupboard, Kai just smirking to himself while he takes one last glance at his bike, thinking back to that little race he had just had with that blonde haired chick, and he is certain that it was a female, her attire indicating it, along with her long blonde hair, her hair reminding him of someone he had met once, someone who had crept into his heart, and who had made him feel happy and free, but unfortunately it is someone that is now only a memory in his past.

Kai ruffles his hair as he makes his way towards his study through the huge manor, lighting a cigarette on the way while his two cats come running down the stairs, the two following him to his study. Kai pours himself a glass of vodka and goes to his desk to make himself comfortable by leaning back into his chair, placing both of his feet on top of the desk, both cats getting on his lap as soon as he is comfortable in his chair.

Kai takes his wallet from his one pocket of his jean, and removes the laminated photo of the Grekov family, his eyes falling directly on the blonde haired young woman, Anastasia. A soft smile appears on Kai’s face as he thinks back to the bubbly sister of his best friend, his late best friend to be more exact.

She sure was something else; she had made him feel so free, making him forget that he is the cruel leader of a feared mob, that he is the owner of a multibillion dollar company. With Anastasia, he had felt like a normal 20 – something year old guy, just wanting to have fun in life, nothing more, and nothing less.

He will never forget their time in New York, although he hardly thinks about it, but still, he will forever cherish those few precious memories. No other woman has ever made him feel like what he had felt when he was with Anastasia, and he doubts that he will ever feel like that ever again with any other woman.

FLASHBACK

It is the morning after the New Year’s party and both Kai and Anastasia are still asleep, well actually, only Anastasia is asleep, and both are naked and just lying on the couch, Kai at the bottom with Anastasia is on top of him, with her head resting on his right shoulder, softly breathing into Kai’s neck.

Although they did not sleep together, it did not prevent the two from having a good time, the 69 position proving its worth over and over again between the two of them, and they might be asleep now, but it does not mean that they have been sleeping for a long time. The two only fell asleep about three hours ago when they both were beyond exhausted. Kai is overall not a person that sleeps till late in the morning, hence why he is currently awake now, just looking at Anastasia with half open eyes, his right arm gently stroking her long untied blonde hair, his left arm holding her body close to him and his left hand resting on her right butt cheek. He wants to look into her eyes so badly, but he just cannot seem to get it over his heart to wake her up, seeing as how she looks so peaceful while still being asleep.

He wants to get lost in her spring green eyes, he wants to hear her voice and her laughter, he wants to feel her soft lips on his, tasting her once more, but he guesses that he has to be patient, although patience is not one of his strong suits. All he can do right now is to continue looking at her and enjoy the feel of her naked body pressed up against his, securely in his arms.

Kai is silently thanking himself that he somehow had managed to change his contact lenses before they fell asleep otherwise his eyes would have been burning and itching like crazy right now, and it would have forced him to remove the contacts and so, reveal his real eye colour. He does not want Anastasia to know that he is pretending to be someone that he is not because for some strange reason he just can’t seem to bear the idea of her thinking of him as a liar, but he also does not want her to know who he really is, not just for his sake but also for Vladimir’s sake, seeing as Anastasia’s brother is working very hard to rid Russia of people like Kai, the criminals of the world.

Surprisingly, Kai’s wig is still in good shape and is holding up very well, well it should be, seeing as the thing was really expensive, but hey, if one has the money for genuine quality, why not buy it.

Just having Anastasia here with him, in his arms, brings a sense of belonging over Kai, like this is where he belongs, in this world with Anastasia – a world where he does not have to think of killing people, of how he is going to keep his company successful and profitable, and also where he does not have to be his usual cold self. With Anastasia he can just relax and live for the moment, he can just enjoy the moment, taking everything one step at a time, and take it all as it comes.

He really wants to introduce Tala and Vladimir to each other, but he is not sure how it will end, will they accept each other or not? Kai seriously doubts that Vladimir would want to be friends with more than one criminal, one is already bad enough, and Tala, he will also not be able to understand how Kai can be friends with someone who opposes their world, the criminal world. Kai just sighs at that thought; he adores and respects both men like brothers and he wants the three of them to be close, but only time will be able to tell whether Tala and Vladimir will ever be able to meet each other.

Kai is brought out of his thoughts when Anastasia starts to stir in his rams, his heart suddenly fluttering within his chest for some unknown reason. A small smile forms on Kai’s mouth when he hears the soft groaning sounds coming from Anastasia, and he has to admit that it is a really cute sound and that it suits her.

Kai makes no movement to let her know of his presence; he wants to enjoy the sensation of seeing her wake up, and so far he knows that it is going to be something that he is not just going to enjoy, but it will also be something that he will cherish for the rest of his life.

Anastasia moves her head to the other side but does not find the new position comfortable and returns to her previous position but just those few movements have caused her to wake up more, and now she is more aware of her surroundings. She lifts her head up halfway and looks straight into Kai’s blue eyes, her face immediately lighting up upon seeing him looking at her, and now she is wide awake.

“Morning, Ana,” is all Kai says in a gentle voice.

“Morning, Demyan. Did you sleep well?”

Kai just nods while still smiling at her, but then he takes his hand which he stroked her hair with and places a finger under her chin, pulling her face closer to his so that he can place a meaningful kiss on her lips, and Anastasia does not complain at all, although it is just a regular kiss, no tongues, nothing. It is not even a make-out kiss, just a normal kiss. When the two pull away, Kai has a smirk on his face, no longer the soft smile.

“Well, now I am completely awake. Who needs coffee when you can get me up and ready with those toxic lips of yours?” Anastasia says with a huge grin on her face, before positioning herself in such a position with her arms holding her upper body up while her face is lingering over Kai’s face, and her lower body sitting on her knees, legs on each side of Kai’s body, almost as if she is straddling his hip area, her firm breasts on full display if Kai looks down.

What Anastasia does not notice is that Kai is lying peacefully with a very erect morning glory, and it is more out of being in the mood than anything else, and he also knows for a fact that she will be all too happy when she feels it, but unfortunately for both of them, Anastasia’s pelvic area is not positioned right above Kai’s pelvic area, but he can easily position her there.

“Now that we have found your kick start for the morning, what will mine be?” Kai asks in a very sly voice.

Without any hesitation, Anastasia leans down and kisses Kai, she returning the kiss that he has placed on her mouth just a moment ago. When she pulls away, Kai pretends to pout, causing Anastasia to snigger at his face.

“And what’s with the face, Yakovlev.”

Kai turns serious, or tries to at least, as he prepares himself to give Anastasia a lecture on the difference between the two of them.

“You see, Anastasia, I am a man and you are a woman; now in any part of the nature, the male is always the stronger one, and I don’t mean that in a sexist way, but we men or let me say we males, need more than you women, more food, more nutrition, more everything, because that is just how we have been made, so, answer yourself this: do you honestly think that _that_ little kiss will be enough for me? Just because it worked for you, does not mean that it will necessarily work for me? Now that I have given you a little lesson in biology, what are you going to do about it, Ms Grekov?”

After giving his ‘very important lecture’, Kai just grins at Anastasia’s face, as she just sneers at him, clearly indicating that she does not care for his little lesson.

“I think you can do with a little, Mr Yakovlev,” is all she replies, Anastasia now being the one who is smirking. 

Kai’s plan back has fired in his face; his plan of getting a full out and intense make-out session from Anastasia has failed miserably, and so he retaliates by gently slapping her on her ass, causing Anastasia to yelp out of surprise.

“Hey! Now I am really not going to kiss you! That was a cheap.....” and before Anastasia can finish her remark, Kai takes the back of her head and pushes her head down so that he can claim her lips once more, and for a second he thinks that she might pull away seeing as he first playfully slapped her, and then did not let her finish her remark, but luckily for Kai, Anastasia leans into the kiss, deepening it very quickly, and very soon, the two are locked in an intense hot and passionate kiss, tongues exploring each other’s mouths intensely, lips becoming heated as they kiss with so much passion.

Anastasia lowers her upper body onto Kai’s chest, he grunting as her breasts press against his skin, he enjoying the feel of her lady lumps against his body, but he wants to feel her sacred place right on top of his very erect member, he wants to do what he could not do earlier the night, he wants to be inside of her, he wants to know her completely, inside and out.

The make -out session is starting to become very heated, so heated that Anastasia pulls away for some much needed air as she is starting to feel a little dizzy, but her pulling away does not stop Kai from kissing her. He just continues kissing her neck, lacing sensual kisses all over her neck, Anastasia not helping but to moan out loud at this exhilarating feeling.

Anastasia fails to notice how Kai’s hands are making their way down to her ass, and more specifically, how his right hand is moving closer and closer to her wet cavern, approaching the area from the back instead of the regular front entrance.

After being certain that the dizziness has passed, Anastasia once again takes Kai’s mouth on to her own, devouring him once again in a very sexual manner, and this being the opportune moment for Kai to slip a finger into Anastasia’s wet cavern, the young woman moaning loudly into Kai’s mouth as Kai’s finger penetrates her, causing the young man to smirk back against her mouth as he gently starts to thrust his finger in and out of her, enjoying the sensation of her wetness against his finger. Anastasia starts to pull his hair with her right hand that is positioned at the left side of his head, the wig proving once again that it was worth the expensive price.

Kai inserts a second finger and starts to thrust his fingers faster and deeper into her, also making sure that his pinkie finger is stroking over her clitoris since his thumb is unable to do it due to the position Kai is currently in. Anastasia’s moans are starting to become louder, and the louder her moans are becoming, the more Kai just wants to thrust into her, flipping her onto her back and inserting his male hood into her as deep as possible.

Kai’s mind is clouded with lust and desire; gone are the thoughts of him that may feel any regret afterwards for leaving her behind when he goes back to Moscow; all he wants to do now is make her his right now. Kai continues thrusting his fingers in and out of Ana for a while longer before he removes them and then places his hand firmly on her ass, just to push her pelvic area down, and that is when Anastasia feels his erection press up against her, causing the young Russian woman to pull away from Kai, a very surprised look on her face, one to which Kai has to smirk to.

Anastasia lifts her body and tilts her head down to look upside down towards the thing that she has just felt, and there it is: in all of his glory, Kai’s erection, the one that she has had in her mouth on numerous times during the night, and the one that just wants to be between her legs so badly right now, but now it looks like he might be able to feel Anastasia from the inside after all, and now she will be able to experience Kai, aka ‘Demyan’ in a more intimate way. She looks back at Kai, smiling broadly as if she has just received the best news, her eyes showing her true emotions, those emotions clearly being those of lust, desire, craving, passion and excitement.

“Well, I haven’t noticed that earlier.”

“You just weren’t paying attention; he on the other hand has been aching for you to notice him,” Kai talking about his erection in third person.

“He should have done something to get my attention, so that is his own fault; however, now that he has my full attention, what happens now? I thought you didn’t want to have sex because of you having to go back to Moscow, and the two us probably never seeing each other ever again.”

“I want to go back with a memory that I want to cherish forever and ever,” and Kai is really being honest about that fact.

He wants to remember how he has made love to Anastasia, not just how he has had sex with her, because sex with her means so demeaning, like she is just one of the regular loose girls and women he has been with, and Anastasia is anything but that. She really means a lot to him, and he really cares for her.

Anastasia does not say anything, and instead just attacks his mouth once more, Kai keeping his hands on her ass as she slowly lowers her pelvic area down onto his, her entrance just stopping at the head of his erection, Kai feeling her wetness on the head of his very anxious and lustful and throbbing member. Both Kai and Anastasia are so anxious about this finally happening, that neither of them hear the door to her hotel room open, and just as Kai starts to push the head of his erection into her very wet cavern, they are suddenly stopped by someone yelling ‘what the hell?!’

Both Kai and Anastasia stop dead in their tracks, completely frozen by the sudden interruption, and it is none other than dear old Vladimir Grekov. He came into the room with a key that Anastasia does not know he has, and she is very pissed about the fact that her brother just came in and ruined a very heated moment.

Vladimir is just standing there, his hands over his eyes as he continues talking, “Get a room, you two hound dogs!” 

“We are in a room, a very private room because it is my hotel room, you idiot! What the hell are you doing here, bro?” Anastasia asks in a very annoyed and sarcastic tone, making sure to emphasise on the word ‘bro’.

“I wanted to come and surprise you two, oh, and to also let you know that mama and papa have already gone down to breakfast, and they were wondering when the rest of us are coming down stairs. They had asked for you, Demyan, but I just told them that you went for an early jog.”

“Well, Vladimir, you did surprise us, and as you can see, me and your sister don’t really appreciate your surprise; your timings sucks, but thanks for covering for me, but still, you could have waited till later to burst in here without any warning. You did not even knock.”

“Oh, cry me a river, Demyan; now, can I remove my hands from my eyes already?”

“No! You know what, my dear sweet brother, you can leave us, that would be so much better.”

“Forget it, sis. You two have to get freshened up and come down stairs, otherwise mama and papa will come look for you themselves. Do you really want them to see you having sex?”

Anastasia gulps at that thought, and then turns her attention back to Kai, and he can see in her eyes that their fun has just come to an abrupt end, much to his disappointment.

“Fine; I will go jump through the shower, and, Demyan, you are welcome to join me of you want to.”

Kai just smirks where Vladimir makes gagging noises at that suggestion.

“Oh shut up, bro; we’ll see how you will feel when I cock block you one day.”

Vladimir just snorts at his sister, muttering something like he knows how to do it without anyone ever trying to bother him.

Anastasia gets up and fondles Kai’s still very erect member and his balls with a huge grin on her face, and then winks at him before straightening up and then walking away, also muttering along the way, Kai clearly hearing every word she is muttering.

“I can’t believe my brother cock blocked me. I was about to have the best morning sex ever, and he just had to go and ruin my fantasy, the bloody cock blocker.”

Kai just chuckles at Anastasia’s muttering, as he makes himself very comfortable on the couch by placing his arms behind his head, his entire body on full exposure while lying comfortably outstretched on the couch.

“Is it safe to open my eyes?”

“Yes, Vlad, you can open your eyes.”

Vladimir opens his eyes and looks at Kai, just to go off once again and quickly yanking his head away from Kai’s body, “Oh come on, dude, cover up your thing!” Vladimir yells after having looked straight at Kai’s erection, he not finding it funny that he had just looked at Kai’s member, seeing way too much for his own liking.

Kai just smirks at Vladimir, giving a firm ‘no’ in covering up his penis, “You wanted to burst in here without any warning, so suffer the consequences, my friend.”

Vladimir just snorts at that, but returns his view back to Kai, making sure his eyes stay locked on Kai’s eyes, and nowhere else. Vladimir proceeds to take a seat across from Kai, the two hearing the shower being turned on. Vladimir makes himself comfortable, but in the process he picks up Kai’s shirt that has been lying on the floor, and tosses it at Kai, Kai just placing it on his pelvic area after effortlessly catching it, finally covering up the necessary things.

“Didn’t you guys have enough last night?”

Kai looks away and does not answer Vladimir, not like he can answer him in the first place, the prosecutor immediately becoming curious about the lack of response.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“What did you two do the whole time?”

“For your information, Vlad, if you did not interrupt us, it would have been my first time with your sister. We never had sex when we came back to her room after the party. We did come close, but I just could not go through with it.”

This statement causes Vladimir to sit at the edge of his couch, with a very serious expression on his face.

“Why? Wait......Kai......do you, do you have feelings for my sister?”

Kai does not even bother to answer his friend, his facial expression already saying all that there is to say. 

“Kai?”

“Fine! Yes, I do have feelings for her, and they are pretty strong feelings. I care for her, and I just could not bring myself to that point of having sex with her knowing that I will never see her again, and before you say that _that_ is what I usually do, this is very different. I have never cared about another woman like I care about your sister, and yes, I know that we were about to do it before you came in, but that was only after I have realised that I want it to be special, that [Sigh] that I want to make love to her, to make her feel like a real woman, and I would have cherished that moment for ever, but now that moment has gone.”

Vladimir is so shocked, completely speechless about what Kai has just confessed, because never in his life has Vladimir ever thought that he will live long enough to see the day where his best friend says the words ‘make love’, because Kai Hiwatari cares only about his needs and wants, and no one else’s, much less a woman’s needs, and here he is, the mighty Kai admitting that he wanted to make love, he wanted to please Anastasia.

“Man......I.....I don’t know what to say, Kai.”

Kai sits up from his comfortable position, the young Russian ruffling the hairs of his wig, an old habit of him that he will probably die with, “Yeah well, don’t worry about it, Vlad, I haven’t forgotten my promise to you. When we get back to Moscow, your sister will be nothing but a special memory to me. I will not attempt to contact her.”

“Kai.....”

Kai just raises up his hand, looking up at his friend with a sincere smile on his face, “It’s okay, Vlad; I also don’t want your sister to get involved with someone like me because she deserves so much better. She deserves a real man that can provide her with a stable environment and life, not a life filled with death and crime; she really does not deserve such a horrendous life.”

Kai can see that Vladimir is clearly still shocked upon hearing that his cold and heartless friend has finally developed feelings towards a woman, but unfortunately he will never be able to act on those feelings, and it does pain him in a manner, but what can he do? This is for the best, and maybe, just maybe, there will come a day where he might develop feelings for another woman, but that is to be seen.

“It takes a real man to give up something that he cares for, to let it go so that it can be happy the way you want it to be, and not every man can say he has that courage, Kai; you can be real proud of your decision.”

The two friends just smile at each other, those words hitting Kai deep within his heart, knowing that it is the truth, no matter how painful it is.

Vladimir sighs and then smirks at Kai, because he has just decided that he is going to leave the two love birds alone, “Go on and join my sister in the shower. I will cover for you two at the breakfast table, but please don’t be too long, alright?”

Kai is very surprised at Vladimir’s offer, but he just grins at his friend and then gets up and rushes to the bathroom.

Anastasia is clearly happy to see Kai join her in the shower, but no words are shared between them. Instead, the two just start to kiss intensely and not long after that, Anastasia is leaning against the wall of the shower, her left leg draped over Kai’s shoulder as he is positioned on his knees between her legs, pleasing her orally until she comes, screaming out a very loud orgasmic scream, which is sweet, sweet music to Kai’s ears.

END OF FLASHBACK

There are two things that Kai finds somewhat strange about him and Anastasia: one, he has no idea how it was possible that she never saw his wing tattoos on his back; Anastasia would most definitely have had something to say about them, so he just does not know how come she never saw them; the second strange thing is that he and Anastasia would have done it without a condom, something that he has never ever done in his life, so why was it that when he was about to make love to her, the thought of using protection did not even cross his mind once? Was it because it felt so natural to him, because he wanted to make love to her, that subconsciously he did not want to ruin the moment by using a condom?

It would not just have been his first time with Anastasia, but it also would have been his first time that he would have made love to a woman, seeing as all of his other times were just regular sex and he had no emotions towards any of those women, only the feelings of lust if that can be considered an emotion. Somehow Kai knows that his heart would have directed his body in the whole ‘making love’ process.

Kai closes his eyes, thinking of Anastasia’s angelic face, along with her body that he has enjoyed feeling in his arms. Her spring green coloured eyes with her natural long black eyelashes and deep dark brown eye brows, it complimenting her face, it bringing out her eye colour even more, and despite she being blonde, her eyelashes and eyebrows are anything but blonde.

Her body, man, what can he say? She was not skinny like most of the women, she had ‘meat’ at all the right places, giving him something to hold on to firmly and she had curves that most women can only dream about, they were not too big nor too small, they were just right. He is almost certain that the world uses the term ‘an hour-glass figured body’, the type of body that most men find attractive, and the type of body most women find the healthiest type of body for a woman, and also the sexiest as it accentuates the true beauty of any woman.

Her breasts were firm, and they fitted perfectly into his hands, feeling so soft beneath his hands, like they were made to fit perfectly with only his hands and no other man’s hands. Her nipples felt so right in his mouth, like they were only made for him to suck on, to lick and to tease, and he had enjoyed doing all of those things to her perky pink nipples.

Her voice was also not that annoying chirpy ones that he despises so much; instead, it had a deep tone to it, deep but still very feminine and also very sexy and smooth; every word she spoke, she spoke so sensually, his fake name, ‘Demyan’, just rolling off of her tongue in a tone that made him weak at the knees and ignited a burning sensation in his loins. Even their voices were well together, her deep feminine voice along with his deep masculine voice. Her moans were like a sweet symphony to his ears, the sound travelling into his body, moving through the various veins and nerves, giving him a sense of serenity all over his body and mind.

How his hands roamed over her body felt so magical, her lips on his felt like she was giving him life, her breathing on his skin sent tingles all down his spine, a numbing, yet very blissful, feeling all over his body, his hands and feet feeling like they have their own will to carry on. She felt so good against his body, like they were almost moulded for each other, like they were two puzzle pieces that have finally found each other after a life time of searching and waiting.

Just then Kai opens up his eyes, chuckling to himself at just how ludicrous he sounds within his own mind right now: Kai Hiwatari never thinks of a woman in that way, but then again, Anastasia was not like the other women, and never will she be like other women because she was unique in her own special way.

‘Funny how you are talking of her in the past tense, but then again, she is in the past, Hiwatari.’

Kai presses the cigarette bud in the ashtray and leans back into his chair, his drink in one hand and the laminated photo in his other hand. His eyes stay on Anastasia, her beautiful spring green coloured eyes shining with life, a shine he is certain no longer shines in her eyes, and all because of what he has done to her. He took away the three people that she has cared for the most in the entire world. It has been so long since he has last thought of her, the last time most probably being the time that _that_ arrogant detective had accused him of the murders of the Grekov family.

‘You will always remain a special person to me, Anastasia Grekov, despite not being in my head all the time, but it is for the best. We live in two completely different worlds, and an innocent person like yourself will never make it in my world, and neither do I want you to be in my world, for you deserve so much better. You deserve happiness, love, peace, and none of those things exists in my world. A fond memory of you is all that I will allow in my world because it is the only thing that will not be hurt, my sweet Ana.

By not thinking of you all the time will prevent me from searching for you, wanting to have you back in my arms, and indirectly destroying your life for wanting you by my side, and that is just something that I cannot allow because you deserve a full life. In some way I am actually glad that we never made love because that way you will always remain that very special woman that I did not claim as mine, and that you will for always remain out of my reach. At least I also know that I did not taint you with my darkness, well not physically at least. My actions on your family did that indirectly for me.

One day, my dear Ana, when you are a very old woman, you will learn the true reasons of why I had murdered your family, and I can only hope that you will be able to forgive me for that.’

Kai sighs to himself before placing the photo on top of his desk, before starting to stroke both of his cats who have been purring the entire time. Kai continues sitting in his study until he finishes his drink.

After finishing it, he places the photo back into his wallet where no one will find it, and then picks up Iris and then heads up to his room, Tiger following him obediently. Kai does not carry Tiger because Tiger hates being carried around; he would much rather walk by Kai’s side.

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It is almost three in the morning, and Anastasia finally comes walking out of the building where the Goth party is still in full swing, and although she was still having a lot of fun up until the point that she has left, she can feel in her body that she is in need of some well deserved rest.

The party has been better than what Anastasia had expected. Everyone was so friendly with her, and there were no guys who were trying to force themselves onto her, and there were lots of single guys, but none of them were perverts. They all had made her feel so welcome, despite Anastasia not being a Goth, although her attire did indicate that she is one, but they don’t need to know that.

Anastasia hugs herself tight with her coat, the early morning air being much colder than it was when she had arrived at the party. Anastasia only had three drinks, not wanting to spoil the experience by getting wasted, and besides, she has to drive her bike back home, and no sane person can argue that it is a very bad idea driving a bike drunk, especially if a bike does not want to be driven slowly.

The party is exactly what Anastasia had needed right now; it has made her feel like her old self, the fun Anastasia Grekov, and she really needed to get in touch with her old self again. She is going to come to Goth parties on a regular basis from now on. She has made a few friends, and they had all exchanged numbers, and they had told her that whenever there is another party, they will most definitely inform her about it.

‘Seems like I have to go shopping for a whole new wardrobe of clothes, and all of them being these awesome clothes,’ Anastasia thinks to herself while looking down at her own attire, feeling very sexy with herself at the moment.

‘I always knew the Goth community was an interesting one, but tonight just completely blew my mind away. They are somewhat different from those in America but only a little. In the end they all still rock. The world needs more people like them because at least they are not pretentious, and they do not judge a person, no matter who that person is or how they look, because they themselves know how it feels to be judged by their appearance alone, and they are quickly labelled as the outcasts of the society, along with being classified as delinquents, and all of that horrible judgement and names coming from people who pretend that they care so much about their fellow person. What a load of horse shit!’

Anastasia is so consumed in her own thoughts of the Goths that she does not realise that she is heading in to the wrong direction, completely in the opposite direction of where her bike is parked. She only realises it when she starts to notice that there are no cars in the vicinity, much less any other people; she is alone, and now she is lost.

‘Great, just bloody great. Nice going, Grekov; how are you going to get to your bike, you don’t recognise anything around here.’

Anastasia turns around to try and retrace her steps, but she just wounds up being even more lost than before. Just then Anastasia hears a bottle break some distance away from her and then it finally dawns on her: she is not in a safe area of the town, and finally she starts to silently panic on the inside, ‘Crap, crap, crap!’

Anastasia hugs her arms even closer around her and speeds up her walking only to be halted in her steps when four guys appear some distance away in front of her. She says nothing, and silently hopes and prays that they did not see her. She quickly and quietly turns around, and then moves into another direction, getting lost even more. There is some illumination in the area, but only enough for her so see where she is walking. She starts to hear whistling and then a man calls out, ‘hey baby,’ causing Anastasia to panic even more.

The four men start to follow Anastasia, taking their time, seeing as they know this run down area like the back of their hands. The four men split into two groups of two, they wanting to cut of Anastasia’s ways.

Anastasia keeps on walking, too afraid to look back, afraid that she will see them following her, but curiosity seems to get the better of her. She quickly turns around and sees that two men are casually strolling behind her, and just as Anastasia turns back around to face the front again, she collides with one of the men, he quickly grabbing her by her arms just as she is about to stumble back.

“Let go of me,” Anastasia says while starting to protest, the two men starting to laugh at her, taunting her.

“Now why would I want to do something like that, huh cutie?”

“You can take my money, it is not much, but I am sure it will be enough for a decent meal.”

“We are not interested in money, sugar,” the man says that is holding Anastasia, and yanks her towards him, her body being held against his, he smelling her hair while Anastasia feels like throwing up because the man smells awful.

Just then the other two also make their appearance known, they also chuckling at Anastasia’s predicament, who once again, tries to get out of the grip that she is in at this very moment.

“Feisty, aren’t you? All the more fun for us. I am going to make you scream, little girl. We all are going to make you scream,” and as if to prove the seriousness of that statement, all four men start to laugh out loud, Anastasia becoming more and more fear stricken with every passing second.

One man proceeds to take hold of her right arm, another man taking hold of her left arm, the two men pulling her away from the man that has been holding her the entire time. All Anastasia can think about now is that they are going to gang rape her, and then leave her to die, and she does not want to die in such a horrible way.

“Please, I beg you, just let me go, please.”

“Ah, how sweet; we will let you go, but only when we all have had our fill, and to be honest, we are all big guys with an even bigger appetite, so it is going to be a while before we release you, and that is, if we want to release you. We just might decide to keep you around as our bitch.”

The man in front of Anastasia starts to advance on her, placing his hands on her hips and then starts to lick her neck, the other three men sniggering at this. Anastasia is trembling by now, and she continues to plead, but that quickly stops when the fourth guy holds his hand over her mouth, making it impossible for Anastasia to scream for help.

In a spur of the moment, Anastasia suddenly knees the man in his balls, causing him to groan out loud and to fall to his knees, and while nursing his bruise, one of the other guys slaps Anastasia through her face, hard, so hard that the young woman immediately gets the taste of her own blood in her mouth. 

The one on the ground growls at Anastasia, saying, “For that you are going to pay dearly, you worthless bitch. I am going to make sure you never see the sun rise ever again.”

Anastasia once again tries to struggle in the grip and also to scream, but all that can be heard are muffled screams, and the commotion of shoes on the dirt. The wounded man finally composes himself and gets up, grabbing Anastasia’s head in his hands, forcing his lips onto hers the moment her mouth is uncovered, and he forces his tongue into her mouth, making Anastasia want to gag at the vile taste of the man.

Her eyes are shut as she hears the other men erupt into another fit of laughter while her mouth is being abused, but all of a sudden, the laughter stops, as well as the assault on her mouth. She opens her eyes and looks directly into the eyes of her assailant, but his eyes are wide open, and then Anastasia watches as blood trickles from his head, something protruding from his forehead, the blood trickling from there, moving down right between his eyes, all down his face. She is released by all the men, and then Anastasia watches as her assailant falls on to the ground with a hard thud.

Anastasia looks up and sees a bulky man in the distance, although she cannot see his face; it almost looks like he has silver hair. The other three men suddenly charge at him, all three taking out various weapons out of their pockets in the process. Anastasia watches as they all advance on the man at the same time, but it is like watching something out of an action packed movie.

The unknown man removes a long chain from his pocket and quickly swings it around one man’s neck, pulling him towards himself and kneeing him hard in the ribs, the distinct sound of ribs breaking being heard. The man drops to the ground, gasping for air. The unknown man quickly ducks as one makes to stab him with a knife, and by releasing the chain, he does a back flip, removing two combat knives from his back pockets, and fluently throws the two knives right into the man’s head, he too falling dead to the ground.

The unknown man crouches down when the last man comes charging at him, he also having a rather large knife with him, but just as he is about to land the knife on to the unknown man, he crouches down even more and then picks up the man and flips him onto his back, taking the attacker’s own knife and stabbing him right through his neck. The unknown man stands up and walks towards the man whose ribs he had just broken and who is also still alive. He removes the chain from the man’s neck and with one swift movement, he breaks the man’s neck, leaving him dead, just as dead as his three other friends.

Anastasia is frozen with fear, not knowing whether he is also going to kill her like he has just killed these four men. The unknown man kneels down beside the man that has his knives in his head, and with one pull, he effortlessly removes the knives from the man’s head, wiping the knives clean on to the jacket of the man that he has just killed with those knives.

He turns to face Anastasia and starts to make his way towards her, she too afraid to move. He bends down in front of her, and that is when she sees what had killed the asshole that had kissed her: he too has a knife right through his skull, and the unknown man also removes it effortlessly, wiping the blood off on to the dead guy’s jacket. He gets up once more and just looks at Anastasia, and still she cannot see his face clearly. All she knows is that this guy is BIG, he almost towering over her, and if he wants to kill her, he won’t even break a sweat in doing it. There is no way she can even try to defend herself against this large man.

“Go home, kid,” is all he says to her in his deep and stern voice, and after saying that he walks right past Anastasia, he not sparing her another moment of his time.

Anastasia just looks out at the four bodies lying in front of her. He had just killed them so quickly, without even breaking a sweat and just then, a brilliant idea pops into her head. She turns around only to see the man already being a good distance away from her, so she starts to jog to catch up with him. Gone is the fear that he might also kill her, and instead she is filled with a new found determination.

The unknown man hears her coming towards him, and groans to himself; he just wants to be left alone.

“Hey, wait!”

The man makes no indication of stopping, but Anastasia is almost right behind him. She finally reaches him and gently grabs him by the shoulder to stop him. He quickly turns around, instructing Anastasia in a very pissed off voice for her to leave him alone and to go back home.

Just like that, Anastasia is pissed at this unknown man, and does not hesitate in making it known, “Hey, I just want to say thanks! No need to get so bitchy about it.”

“Whatever; just leave me alone, kid.”

“I am not a kid, guy.”

The unknown man once again turns away from Anastasia, but this time she grabs him with a firmer grip, causing the man to yank her wrist off of him, but for some unknown reason this movement does not unsettle Anastasia.

“What the hell is your problem? You already said your thanks, so get lost.”

“No, not until you hear me out because I want to make you an offer, an offer that will come with lots of money.”

“I don’t want your money.”

“Just listen, please.”

The unknown man crosses his arms over his chest after releasing his hold on Anastasia’s wrist, this a clear sign to her that he is listening.

“I want you to teach me how to fight.”

“Unbelievable,” is he all he says before uncrossing his arms and turning around, getting ready to walk away once more, but once again Anastasia stops him, but this time she does it in a more gentle way, by placing her hand on his right upper arm.

The unknown man stops dead in his tracks, turning around to look at Anastasia, “Look, kid, this is a big city; there are many self defence classes that you can choose from.”

“I am not interested in taking self defence classes. It is clear that you have skills that one cannot learn from a class, and it is skills like yours that I want to learn.”

“Why? You want to kill someone?” he asks in a mocking tone, not realising that _that_ is exactly the reason.

Anastasia finally drops her hand from the unknown man’s arm, her body posture suddenly indicating that he has just hit the right spot.

“Yes, I want to kill someone, and I am certain that I will be able to get my revenge on him if you teach me all that you know.”

“Who is the unlucky bastard, an old boyfriend, an ex-boss, what?” again he speaks in a mocking tone.

“A mob boss who took my family away from me, who killed them like they were nothing; I want to kill Kai Hiwatari.”

It is a good thing that it is dark otherwise Anastasia would immediately have seen the unknown man tense at that name, but he tries his best to keep his voice its usual cold and stern self, “Here is some free advice, kid: pack your things and get out of Russia, not just out of Moscow; forget about avenging your family’s death. Your family is not the first that has died by his hands, and neither will they be the last. Just forget about killing Hiwatari. ”

“I will not! I will kill him, but I need your help, please.”

“Forget it, kid; don’t get involved in that world, stay away from it as far as possible, because it is not pretty.”

“I don’t care. Kai Hiwatari will die by my hands, and you are going to teach me all you know.”

The unknown man has to admit that this girl sure has guts, and apparently she is also very strong willed, and stubborn like a mule.

“You are no match for Kai; his men will kill you before you can even come close to him.”

“Maybe I am not making myself clear: Kai Hiwatari WILL DIE BY MY HANDS, but I need your help, please. I will pay you a sufficient amount of money, and I do have money. Please, I know that you are my only way to get to him. I am not asking you to help me kill him, just to teach me all that you know, please. I am a fast learner, and I will even give you a place to stay for as long as it is needed.”

The man remains standing in silence, contemplating with himself on whether he should help her or not. No one has taken on Hiwatari, and succeeded, he would know because he too had once worked in The Chernyy Feniks, and he knows how strong and dangerous Kai is. This girl has no chance against Kai, even if he teaches her all that she knows. Kai also knows everything, and Kai is a very skilled fighter.

However, if he does train this girl, she will at least be able to protect herself in the future. If he had not killed those thugs, she most certainly would have died a gruesome death. Maybe this girl’s strong willed demeanour will get her a chance to get to Kai, although highly unlikely, but one can always hope.

Just then he makes up his mind: he will teach her all that he knows, but after that, she is on her own.

“Fine, kid, I will teach you, but let me warn you: I have no patience for failure. If you show even the slightest sign of not being able to keep up, I am gone, got that?”

“Got it, and thanks for wanting to teach me. I know that it must be a huge sacrifice in giving up your time to help a complete stranger, but thanks anyway. I am almost certain that it was meant for you to cross my path tonight, I don’t know why, and believe me, I am not one of those superstitious people, but I just have a good feeling about this.”

“We’ll see whether you will still feel like that when the training begins and it will take time, kid.”

“I don’t care if it takes years, as long as it gets me to Kai in the end where I can put a bullet in to him, or let me say, bullets, just to make sure that the bastard is dead. So when is my training going to begin?”

“In exactly a week’s time, that way we both can get everything in order and get everything that is needed. You said you got money, kid?”

“Yeah, enough.”

“Enough for gym equipment?”

“Enough to start up a few gyms, big ones.”

The man walks closer to Anastasia, and then takes a wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket containing a number.

“Call this number tomorrow to reach me, just ask for B, and then we can meet up some time tomorrow and discuss everything.”

Anastasia takes the piece of paper, and holds it securely in her hands.

“I really appreciate it that you are willing to do this; you have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Wait till the training begins, kid; we’ll see what you have to say then. Now go home before another set of thugs crosses our paths.”

“Err, I am kind of lost. I have no idea where my bike is parked.”

The guy just shakes his head in disbelief, ‘She wants to kill Hiwatari, but she can’t even find her way back to her bike; just great.’

“Fine, I will help you find it.”

“Thanks; then I can get home and go and scrub my mouth out with any type of cleaning detergent that I can find because a sewer rat just took a dump in my mouth by forcing his tongue down my throat. My poor mouth might never be the same again after that horrible ordeal.”

The unknown guy suppresses a chuckle at how this young woman just so bluntly talks about the guy who had forcefully kissed her, and so the man just snorts at her comment, not wanting to show this stranger of a young woman that he has just found her dry comment rather funny.

The two start to make their way into the direction the guy knows all of the cars are parked because he knows about the Goth party tonight. Anastasia silently walks right beside the man, whose name she does not even know yet.

“I am Anastasia, by the way, Anastasia Grekov, but everyone just calls me Ana.”

“Bryan.”


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – kai’s demise: let the build up begin – Year 1

Most people would prefer to go their entire lives without seeing any type of brutality or intense violence against another human being, including murder, and should they ever happen to witness such a horrendous thing, it will stay with them for days on end, weeks, months and even years, and some may even have to go for psychological help, because they may suffer from horrible nightmares and visions that keep haunting them after witnessing such a horrible scene, whatever it may have been.

Now a days the human race is not built to see very horrible scenes, whereas in the olden times, brutality was considered a way of life, but as the human race has evolved, so has certain things evolved with it, things like what is considered inhumane and what not, what is against the law and what is not, hence why murder is against the law, and that is also why many does not condone it in any way, except maybe the death sentence, but only when that criminal has done unspeakable things to another human being.

Sure, the news is usually full of violence but at least everyone has a choice on whether they want to watch it or not. Many would prefer to live in a life where they are blind to the horrors of the full world, horrors like hunger, war, famine in certain countries, and animal abuse; they would much rather keep themselves busy with unnecessary gossip about celebrities, and in a way, protect themselves by doing this.

Should one witness a murder some hours ago, they would most probably be too petrified to leave their house or maybe even speak about it so suddenly, shock being the main reason for these actions. Fear, shock, disgust, nausea, all these are normal emotions being felt after witnessing another person being killed, but that is not the case with a certain young blonde haired woman at the moment. Just a couple of hours ago she had witnessed how four thugs got killed, and instead of sitting in a cold bath trying to overcome the immense shock, she is sitting with a cup of coffee on her balcony and just watching the residents of Moscow coming to life.

After Anastasia got home from the Goth party and her encounter with Bryan, she went straight to bed, excited no less, because she has found new courage of killing Kai, and she is certain that this Bryan is her answer and her solution to getting her revenge on Hiwatari. The fact that she had just witnessed four murders does not seem to bother her, much less the idea of getting associated with the guy that had just killed the four guys. Clearly it also does not bother Anastasia in the slightest to allow a murderer into her life, because her only goal is to kill Kai, no matter who she has to get involved with in order to get it done.

While still sitting on her comfortable chair with her legs pulled up to her chest and with the cup of coffee in one hand, the other hand holding a picture of Kai, Anastasia has a wicked smile on her face, the smile resulting from the thoughts of putting a few bullets into the head of the man in the picture. The piece of paper that Bryan had handed her is lying on her kitchen counter, the number that she is going to call in a few hours’ time and hopefully meet up with him, that is, if he still wants to meet up with her, which she really hope he does; Bryan is her only way now to get to Kai.

It was pure fate that they had crossed paths. She will call the number after she has finished her coffee and had a proper breakfast. Hopefully Bryan will be awake at that time, despite it still being very early in the morning, and she has no idea at what time he may have went to sleep seeing as he was also awake at the same time as she was, and she can’t recall seeing Bryan at the party, and neither was he dressed in the Goth attire so he was not at the party.

Anastasia makes herself even more comfortable in her chair after tossing the picture of Kai on to the small patio table next to her, drinking her coffee slowly and enjoying every moment of it while continuing to watch everyone come to life to start their new day.

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It is just past eleven AM and Anastasia is sitting on her couch, the phone in one hand and the piece of paper with Bryan’s number in the other hand, and she is anxious as hell. The fact that she is about to contact a killer is not what makes her anxious; it is the fact that Bryan may have changed his mind in the last couple of hours, leaving her once again at a dead end, and she is really tired of ending up that way.

‘Get a grip, Grekov; since when are you so pessimistic. Just call the guy, he might not even give you a direct answer now; he did say that we have to meet up, so maybe it is just to confirm the meeting place, so just dial the number already.’

Anastasia takes a deep breath and finally puts in the digits, and only releases her breath when she hears the dial tone. It rings for a few times before someone finally answers.

_“Ice Bear Bar, morning.”_

Anastasia immediately frowns at that name, wondering whether it is the correct number that she had just dialled, but decides to still take a chance and ask for Bryan, or like he said, ‘B’.

“Err, morning, sir. I am not sure whether I am at the right place, but I am looking for B.”

_“Just hold, missy.”_

Anastasia hears the man suddenly call a name which she cannot make out, but soon enough a deep voice answers her.

_“Who is this?”_

“Hi, Bryan, it is me, Anastasia Grekov; we met some time ago, actually, we met early this morning.”

_“If you have any plans for tonight, cancel them because we will meet at nine ‘o clock sharp.”_

“Yeah sure, I have no plans; where will we meet?”

Bryan gives Anastasia the address which she quickly writes down, having no clue where it is but hearing the tone of Bryan’s voice, she would rather not divulge that little piece of information; a GPS will most definitely find the place.

 _“Don’t be late,”_ and then Bryan just hangs up, that action immediately pissing off Anastasia.

“You rude unmannered bastard, you could at least have said good bye. I am seriously starting to doubt on whether this was such a good idea. Brawn bastard,” Anastasia says to herself while she tosses the phone on to the far end of the couch, her temper still rising with how rude Bryan had just been with her.

“ _Don’t be late_ ,” Anastasia mimics what Bryan had said in a mocking voice, “Don’t worry, Bryan, I won’t be late. I would not want to waste your precious time. Maybe this was not such a good idea, I mean the guy did kill four guys in a matter of a few minutes. What’s not to say that he would not do the same to me? But then again, he could have killed me along with those other four guys, or worse, he could have kidnapped me and then have taken me to a secluded cabin somewhere in the frozen tundra of Russia, where he could have kept me as a sex slave, but he did not, and besides, I have a good feeling about this, and by now I have learned to trust my gut feelings because it has never been wrong, no matter how much my mind argues. There are just some things that cannot be argued with. Get a grip, Grekov, you are talking way too much with yourself now a days; soon you will be admitting yourself to the loony bin. Okay, seriously, stop talking!”

Anastasia starts to laugh at herself, which then turns out to be a hilarious laughing session, tears rolling down her face as she continues to laugh at herself because of her scolding herself like that, and after a few minutes passes with some more hilariousness, she finally gets a grip on herself, but still with a few chuckling sounds afterwards.

Anastasia remains sitting on the couch, just lost in her own thoughts. She looks at the clock on the wall and sees the time, twenty past eleven to be exact, and that means that there are still a good couple of hours left before her meeting with Bryan.

‘Now what the hell am I going to do till then?’

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It is dark and cold, a miserable weather mood in Anastasia’s opinion. She has just reached the place where she has to meet Bryan, and by the looks of it, it is a rundown bar where only the worst of the worst will dare to come and get a drink. There are a few trucks standing outside the bar, but even they give off a very unsettling vibe. The bar is situated on the outskirts of the city, far from proper civilisation, and it is almost an hour’s drive from her penthouse. It’s a good thing she did some research on where the place is, otherwise she most definitely would have been late now, not a good first impression with a guy like Bryan.

It is five minutes to nine, and after taking a deep breath and then releasing it, and then covering her head with the hood of her hooded jacket, she gets out of her truck and starts making her way towards the bar, her fur boots crunching underneath the snow as she walks towards the bar, her nerves becoming more and more shot with every step she takes.

When Anastasia enters the bar, it is just as she has expected: big burly guys, covered with tattoos, giving off the aura of very bad guys, standing all around the somewhat well-lit bar. She slowly makes her way towards the bar counter after spotting it, but to her surprise, not one of the guys takes notice of her, and she even spots two hugely built women that are involved in a game of darts with two other guys.

Anastasia reaches the bar counter but before she can ask the bartender for Bryan, someone firmly takes her by her right upper arm and whispers into her ear to come with him. She immediately recognises the unknown guy as Bryan, her whole body relaxing at that moment, knowing that now she is at least in the company of someone that she has already met.

Bryan leads her to a private booth where he allows her to take a seat first before taking a seat opposite her, Anastasia finally being able to take a good look at him, and she has to admit, that he is not bad looking at all, he has that rugged attractiveness that can make most women weak at the knees, and he has to be at least five years older than her, maybe even more; she will ask his age later on.

There is no doubt about the colour of his hair, it is lavender, and it just adds to his ruggedness; his hair is sleek and it is almost reaching his shoulder, and surprisingly enough, it fits him; she can’t see him with any other style or type of hair right now. His eye colour is almost grey but she cannot be sure, maybe in the sunlight she will able to see the correct colour; his body looks even bigger than before, big muscular arms, definite chest, or as they are commonly known, Pecs, and she is almost certain that he has a toned stomach, completely ripped. He is dressed in all black, no jacket or coat on, making her think that he hangs out in this bar way too much, and that he has to be used to this extreme coldness by now. Over all, Bryan is a real catch; his attitude not so much.

“I see that you are on time, good for you.”

“Good evening to you too, Bryan.”

Bryan just snorts at that, not even acknowledging the greeting.

“So, Blondie, what is your plan?”

Anastasia is not impressed with that nickname at all, but chooses to ignore it for now; she can scold him later on that.

“What plan?”

“How do you plan on getting to Hiwatari in order to kill him.”

“Well, I figured to just fight my way to him after you have taught me all that you know.”

Bryan just looks at Anastasia with an expressionless face, slowly starting to shake his head from side to side.

‘Unbelievable; she wants to get to the most dangerous mob boss, but she does not even have a plan of action. I am starting to think that I am seriously wasting my time here with this girl.’

“Are you serious about killing the guy or not?”

“Of course I am; how can you even ask that?”

“Because you don’t even have a plan of action, and just for your information, you can’t just fight your way to Hiwatari, not even with my skills. Not even I will be that stupid to attempt something like that.”

“Then what do you suggest, o wise one.”

“Drop the sarcasm, kid, or the deal is off.”

“Sorry,” is all Anastasia whispers and looks genuine with the apology, “What do you suggest then, Bryan?”

Bryan says nothing and instead signals for the bartender to come and take their orders.

“What can I get your lady friend, Bryan? I already know yours.”

“I will just have a double shot of vodka on the rocks,” that order leaving both men to just look at the blonde haired woman with a look of amusement on their faces.

“What? Don’t be fooled by the appearance, boys. I finish a bottle every night, and I know how to handle my drink.”

“Good to know; I will be back shortly with your drinks.”

Bryan and Anastasia just nod their heads.

“I am still waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“Your plan, Bryan; what do you suggest I do in order to get to Hiwatari?”

“Let’s just wait for the drinks, kid.”

Anastasia says nothing and just leans back into her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. She looks around the bar some more to get a better picture of where Bryan clearly likes to spend his time seeing as the bartender already knows his drink.

There are various number plates, clearly from all over the world, put up against the wall behind the bar counter; there are various souvenirs, a few animal head trophies, something that is already pissing off Anastasia; there are funny pictures and figurines displayed all over the bar, and even a cockatoo parrot behind the bar, the bird looking quite happy with its environment while sitting on top of his cage instead of being inside; the music is not bad that is currently playing in the background, and overall the bar is very clean. Despite the crowd hanging in here, it looks like a cosy place where there are hardly any problems. So maybe the people in here might not be that bad, but they sure look like ex convicts or ex military men. Anastasia suddenly shudders with the idea of some of them even being ex mob members.

She quickly turns her attention to Bryan who is also just leisurely sitting in his seat, arms crossed over his chest. It is only then when Anastasia notices his tattoo on his left upper that is slightly peeking out from underneath his sleeve. She will never deny the fact that she will always have a weakness for guys with tattoos, they are just her kryptonite. Anastasia is so focused on looking at Bryan’s tattoo that she does not notice that he is also checking her out, but only because the girl is constantly staring at him.

“See something you like, kid?” Bryan asks in an amusing tone, bringing Anastasia immediately out of her daze, the young woman quickly turning her attention away from Bryan’s arm, and looking Bryan in his eyes.

“Sorry, but I just love tattoos on guys, and I am just trying to figure out what it is that is on your arm.”

Bryan leans forward and rests his arms on the table top and then lifts the sleeve, he not missing the look in Anastasia’s eyes as they just widen along with the smile on her face.

She can now clearly see the tattoo, the tattoo covering Bryan’s entire upper arm. It is a beautiful portrait of an eagle, its wings open and its claws looking like it is about to attack something. Anastasia is so fascinated with the tattoo, that she does not even notice when their drinks arrive; only when the bartender walks away, does she loudly say thank you after him, he just waving his hand in return.

“That is one awesome tattoo; does it have any meaning?”

Bryan leans back in his seat while taking a sip of his drink before placing it back on to the table, and then looks at Anastasia once more, “It symbolises my freedom, that’s all.”

“That’s kind of deep.”

Anastasia is so curious to find out more about the story behind the tattoo, but she knows it is wrong to probe into someone’s private life, so instead she decides to change the subject, bringing their attention back to Bryan’s suggestions on ‘the big plan’.

“Now that we have our drinks, what do you suggest I do to get to Hiwatari?”

Bryan just looks at Anastasia, wondering how she will react to what he is about to suggest. She might flip out completely, which will be a normal reaction anyway, but maybe it might also bring her to her senses, she finally realising that she has to forget about getting revenge on Kai, because it is just a suicide mission in his opinion.

“You will have to join his mob, become one of them.”

It is a good thing Anastasia does not have vodka in her mouth right now, because she most definitely would have spit it out. Anastasia’s jaw just drops, complete shock covering her face, “What.....how....how can you even.....are you out of your freaking mind?! How the hell can you even suggest something.......something so.....urgh! I can’t even get my head around such a ludicrous idea!”

Anastasia grabs her drink and finishes it in one go, making it look like she had just downed water, Bryan just looking at her with a bored look on his face.

“That’s the only way, kid. In order to get to a snake in its own habitat, you have to become a snake otherwise you will get killed. If you don’t want to do it, then fine, I am not going to force you. In my opinion, I will be relieved if you forget about this idea of going after Hiwatari, because it is suicide.”

Anastasia says nothing and just looks at her glass, Bryan seeing how she is seething with anger, he just looking at how her shoulders are rising up and down quite fast, indicating her chest is also rising like this. Figuring that the conversation is done, Bryan takes his glass and gets up to go and sit at the bar counter, but just as he is about to walk away from the booth, Anastasia stops him, but without calling out his name.

“Fine, I will do it,” her voice stern and serious.

Bryan turns around and faces Anastasia, the blonde looking up from her glass and looking Bryan directly in the eyes, her eyes filled with so many emotions, and he just knows that she really is serious in killing Kai. Her eyes are filled with hate, and yet, at the same time they are filled with fire, a fire that seems to have intensified, and a fire that is not going to stop from burning anytime soon. Bryan no longer sees the blonde from earlier; instead, he now sees a tough and determined young woman, a woman he is sure he can transform into a mean killing kick ass machine, that is, if she can handle it.

Bryan goes back to the booth and takes his place across from Anastasia once more, the two still looking each other in the eye.

“I will become a snake, but I need your help.

“I will help you, kid, but it is not going to be easy. It is going to be hell, and it is going to take some time, and I don’t mean months.”

“I don’t care; getting my revenge will be my fuel.”

“I will have no mercy, kid, and just because you are a woman will make no difference to me. You will experience pain in places you did not even know you had in and on your body.”

“Good, that is how I prefer it, and as for the pain, the pain will drive me more, it will remind me of all the pain that bastard has caused me, so it will keep me going.”

Bryan takes another sip from his drink, while still keeping his eyes on Ana, the young woman not showing any sign of doubts about the journey that she is about to embark on.

“I am only going to ask you this one last time, kid: are you sure that you want to go down this road? Do you really want to get involved in that type of world, where blood and murder is a way of life? Do you realise that you will have to become a killer if you want to get to Kai?”

“I don’t care; sacrifices have to be made for the greater good, it has been done many times in the past, and it will be done again. If that is the only way to ensure my way to Kai, then so be it.”

Bryan leans back into his seat, placing his arms over his head while still looking at Anastasia, who has crossed her arms in front of her.

“Fine, kid, I can see that you are determined to do this, and I were actually hoping that you would drop everything once you hear that you have to join the dark side, but clearly luck is not on my side tonight. First things first, are you fit?”

“Not really, but I can get fit if you want me to.”

“You have two months’ time. You said that you have money to buy the gym equipment? I will give you a list of what to buy. The weapons and other things I will take care of.”

“Weapons?”

“Yes, kid, knives, guns, that shit; how else do you want to fight? A human body can only take so much.”

“Sure, no problem; so I take it my training will begin in two months’ time?”

Bryan just nods his head lazily.

“I really appreciate all of this, Bryan; you have no idea what it means to me.”

“We will see whether you will still feel the same way when the training starts, kid, and just a little warning: if you show any sign of weakness or any sign that I am wasting my time, I am out, and when I am gone, I am gone, got that?”

“Got it.”

Anastasia also leans back into her comfortable chair, her eyes meeting Bryan’s eyes, she suddenly just smirking at him, he not really understanding what she is smirking at, “What is it, kid?”

“What will your girlfriend say about you training another woman?”

“There is no girlfriend, kid, so don’t worry about some deranged woman coming after you. And you, won’t your boyfriend mind that you are going to be in the presence of another man, sweaty bodies constantly being in close contact?” Bryan now being the one that is smirking, and Anastasia’s smirk is not faltering once.

“No boyfriend, so you don’t have to worry about some deranged man coming after you,” Anastasia mimicking Bryan’s previous words, to which his smirk just broadens.

Just then a woman walks past the booth of the two occupants, she and Bryan immediately locking eyes, she just smiling at him while Bryan only nods his head at her, Anastasia not missing the little private encounter between the two.

“I thought you said you did not have a girlfriend.”

“I don’t.”

Bryan turns his attention back to Anastasia after watching the woman make her way through a door that is situated behind the bar, Bryan seeing how Anastasia is still smirking at him.

“What, kid, for the second time.”

“Nothing, only that I suddenly have the craving to have a few strong drinks and to have fun,” the gleam in her eye confirming her sudden craving, to which Bryan just raises his glass as if to cheer her on. 

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_“Our first story for the day is about the scandal that is currently rocking the political world involving Minister Smirnov where he has been caught with two prostitutes inside of his hotel room while busy with visits to St Petersburg._

_Minister Smirnov, who is rumoured to run for president in the upcoming elections for the presidential election has not delivered any comment since he had been caught three days ago, his offices saying that he will deliver his statement when he is ready. Rumours are that he is currently in a secluded location with his wife of 33 years, and with their children and grandchildren, as this is a shock to the whole family. His offices have also asked that everyone please respect their privacy during this difficult time._

_Photos have already been made public where the Minister can be seen getting very comfortable with two unknown ladies inside of the hot tub that is situated on the balcony of his hotel room, the two ladies now known as two highly paid escorts within the sex trade business. Surveillance can also show that all three occupants were naked while being in the hot tub. One of the prostitutes have been questioned, and she had revealed that they have made a sex tape which she will release in her own time, although authorities have obtained a warrant demanding her to hand it over to the authority._

_In the meantime, Minister Smirnov has also withdrawn from the upcoming race of running for president, and he will most likely also withdraw from his position as Minister. It is still.....”_

The TV goes quiet as it is turned off, Tala being the one that had just switched off the TV, he sitting in the main study of the Feniks manor, with Mr Kournikova.

“Well done, Mr Ivanov. I do not regret it for one moment coming to you guys for help with this little situation. I expect the others to also be this flawless?”

“Of course, Mr Kournikova,” Tala says with a sly smile on his face, “The Chernyy Feniks only delivers the best; we do have a reputation to think of, you know.”

Mr Kournikova holds his glass of vodka up so that he can clink his glass with Tala’s glass.

“Mr Hiwatari will assassinate the first family in about two days’ time, so please watch the news.”

“I cannot wait; I am curious, Mr Ivanov, have you already planned everyone’s downfall on the list?”

“More or less. You did give us a year’s time, although there is still ten months left, but there is no need to rush into these types of things, seeing as it will raise suspicions, and that is not something that we would want now, is it?”

“Of course not. All I can say is a job well done so far, Mr Ivanov. Just one more question: was it difficult to orchestrate the whole thing with Smirnov?”

“Not at all; you will be surprised with what you can get away with if you pay enough money to certain people. And it was not like he had refused the two ladies, neither was he drugged, so it was a scandal that he actually brought onto himself if one looks at it from a normal point of view. We, of course know better, but no one is going to talk now, right.”

“I am looking forward to the downfall of the others; it feels like my fifth birthday all over again. Well anyway, if you would excuse me, Mr Ivanov, I have to be on my way, to go and give my moral support to Mr Smirnov, and his family,” the corrupt man says with a smirk while getting up, Tala following suit.

“Do what you must, Mr Kournikova. We will keep you updated with our progress.”

“Good; please send my regards to Mr Hiwatari, and have a good day, Mr Ivanov.”

“Same to you, Mr Kournikova.”

Tala walks with the corrupt minister to the door before seeing him off and then heading back to the main study.

Two months have already gone by since the corrupt politician came to Tala and Kai with this task, and although they still have about ten months left to complete it, they are not worried at all. The first person on the list has been taken care of, meaning there are still twelve left. Kai has already scouted the three families that he has to kill, the areas where they live, their routines, and he has everything planned out up to the last detail. He and Tala has already planned most of the ways to take out the other names on the list, some include death, accidents, scandals, fraud scandals, anything that will ensure that they are removed from the campaigns of wanting to run for president.

There are overall seven different political parties that have selected a few candidates from each party that will run for president, and the 10 that Kournikova has selected as his targets, are the 10 that he knows for a fact will be very strong contenders, and he does not want that because he wants to be the strongest contender in order to ensure his victory in the end elections, and in the end, result in him being elected as the new president of Russia, because he has various plans for the future of the country, and unfortunately it does not all include legal and fair plans.

The three families that have to be assassinated are somewhat more of a personal matter to Kournikova, he wanting to send a message to a few of his enemies that thinks that they can threaten him, and get away with it. He wants everyone to know that he is a powerful man and that he will become more powerful, so they all should think twice of wanting to cross him. 

Mr Smirnov’s downfall was Tala’s plan, he hiring the two prostitutes, who are also working for The Chernyy Feniks, and the surveillance was also orchestrated with the help of a few bribes.

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It is just past six AM, the sun already up but the temperatures are still below freezing point. In a quiet suburban area somewhere in Moscow, a family of 4 is getting ready for the day that lies ahead. Behind the house in the back yard, it is just bushes, the family being in touch with nature constantly.

In the summertime this bushy area is green and full of life, the various birds singing in the morning and the small little animals running around and looking for food. However, right now the bushy area looks dead and the branches of the dead trees are covered with snow. This bushy area also has various jogging trials for the fit people of the suburb who love to jog in the morning, and despite this area covered with snow right now, there are still a few brave souls that takes on the icy jogging session in the morning, these healthy joggers saying that it is a much better wakeup call than a strong cup of hot coffee.

This bushy area may seem quiet now but that is not the case at all as a man with two different tones of hair is laying comfortably on his stomach right now, his sniper rifle on its stand while its owner is scanning the house from the backyard of the house of the family of 4, watching the movements of the family as they get ready for the day, all of them completely unaware of their movements being watched.

Kai is looking through the telescope with his right eye while casually having a cigarette in his mouth, the cold breeze slightly ruffling his hair. He is dressed in camouflage wear to blend in with the environment. Kai is about 400 metres away from the house, and 400 metres is an excellent distance for him to fire his rifle, along with its silencer, and the bushes is not a problem for him at all.

Kai has arrived some time ago, taking his time in setting up his sniper gun, getting ready for the first family on the list that he has to assassinate. Kai takes another drag from his cigarette and for a few seconds he removes his eye from the telescope to blow out the smoke, before taking up his position behind the gun once more. He has decided to take this family out in their own house seeing as he can blend in easily in between the bushes.

The house is a cosy two-storey house and the backyard looks like it can be a very cosy place in the warmer months, but right now it looks like the rest of the frozen landscapes of Moscow: dead and dull. Kai can spot a few toys lying scattered around the yard, toys that clearly belong to a toddler as it is various huge plastic trucks.

‘Too bad the kid won’t get to play with them anymore,’ is all Kai thinks on the toys, the fact that he is about to kill a 2 year old boy not bothering him in the slightest.

He can clearly see the father and mother in the kitchen, along with their toddler. The father is sitting at the table, reading his newspaper while casually laughing with his wife, whom is feeding their two year old son. So far Kai cannot spot the teenage daughter, thinking that she is still in her bedroom getting ready for school or something.

Kai continues watching the family’s doings through his telescope when he hears the snap of a twig behind him. He quickly turns around and looks straight up into the face of male jogger, both men surprised by each other’s presence. Kai has not been expecting anyone to jog in this cold weather this morning, despite already having spotted the various jogging trials, but he was certain that no one would be this stupid enough to go and jog in this harsh weather.

The jogger just looks at Kai, and then he spots the rifle on the stand, and quickly comes to a conclusion of what is going on.

“What are you doing with the gun?”

Kai does not even bother to answer the jogger; instead, he just pulls his hand gun from the back of him, also equipped with a silencer, and shoots the jogger right between his eyes, his body making a thud as it hits the ground. Kai just gives the dead jogger one glance before turning his attention back onto his targets. The jogger just lays there with eyes wide open, blood covering the ground where his head had just landed; the poor jogger did not even get a chance to run for safety. Within a blink of an eye, his life was taken, like it meant absolutely nothing, well, for Kai it does not mean anything.

Kai removes the cigarette from between his lips as it is almost done, and presses the last piece into the ground before removing another one from his packet and placing it between his lips to light it.

Adrenaline has started to pump through Kai’s body as the time to take out the targets are getting closer and closer. He lives for these moments, these special moments where he gets to look through a telescope of one of his sniper rifles, focusing it on a target. It is a shame that he gets to do it so little, because he can see himself doing this type of thing every day.

The whole thing is just so exhilarating for the young mob boss, from setting up the gun to spotting the targets and then focusing on them, from cocking the gun and finally pulling the trigger, hitting the target dead on, watching them drop dead after just one bullet to the head, and yes, Kai loves a perfect head shot, it always ensuring that the person is dead. He has had a few targets that he had to take out in a public place, and just the panic of all the people around the dead person just added to the explosive and fast rush that was coursing through his body.

He lives for the kill, and it is just too bad that he has so much other stuff that he has to take care of, otherwise he would have become a full time hit man. He was just all too happy on the inside when Kournikova had said that these three families have to be assassinated, and it was a celebration when he saw that there are women and children involved, and Kai knows by now that Tala does not kill women and children; all the better for him.

After taking a few deep drags from his cigarette, Kai looks at his watch and sees the time, knowing that he has to hurry with this job because he has an early meeting at the office and it is still a long way that he has to drive back to Hiwatari manor in order to get ready for the meeting.

Kai looks through his telescope once more and focuses it on the father, and after being certain that he is focused completely on the man’s head, he cocks his gun. Just one effortless pull of the trigger is all it takes to get a perfect head shot, Kai watching through his telescope how the man just falls forward onto the kitchen table. Kai turns his focus to the woman and he looks on as she looks shocked at her husband, Kai clearly seeing how she starts to scream upon the blood running from her husband’s head.

Another pull of the trigger, and she too falls to the floor, another perfect head shot. Kai turns his focus to the small boy who is just playing with his food, completely oblivious to what is going on around him at the moment. Kai once again pulls the trigger and another head shot is all it takes to kill the two year old infant. The glass of the window had hardly shattered when the bullets flew right through the window; all that is left are three small holes, small cracks appearing all around the three holes.

‘Now the teenage brat; where are you, girl?’ Kai thinks to himself while casually taking another drag from his cigarette.

A few minutes passes by before Kai finally spots the teenage girl making her way into the kitchen, Kai watching as she rushes to the bodies of her parents.

‘Perfect,’ is all Kai thinks with a smirk while he pulls the trigger, another perfect head shot, killing the last family member, the teenage girl also dropping to the floor of the kitchen.

Kai relaxes and sits up straight, stretching the muscles of his arms and back, cracking his neck from side to side. He gathers his cigarettes buds and the empty bullet casings, and throws them all into a small plastic bag. He starts taking his rifle apart and carefully places it in its suitcase, and without even looking at the house or the jogger one last time, Kai gets up and makes his way through the bushes towards an old rundown car that is parked quite some distance away. The car he had obtained for just this mission, not wanting to use his own cars. The car will now be destroyed after it has been dropped off at the Feniks manor.

Adrenaline is rushing through Kai’s body as he makes his way back to Hiwatari manor, the young man not really in the mood for the meeting right now. He is in the mood for something way more fun right now, and it involves a naked woman on her back, her nails digging into his skin as he slams into her over and over again, but unfortunately for him, the meeting is more important than any woman right now, as he has a lot riding on this meeting, so he will just have to wait till after the meeting to get a woman on her back. Maybe then he will have two reasons to celebrate, and that means that whoever he gets his way with later on, will beg him to stop because he will be too much for that woman. He has no intention of going easy on any woman right now.

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The sun is setting and the temperatures have already dropped, despite it slowly starting to become spring already. Bryan had just arrived at the Grekov household after he followed Anastasia in his black jacked-up 1971 Chevrolet Cheyenne, it being one of his most prized possessions. He follows Anastasia into the house and gently places his two bags in the kitchen, already picking up on the ‘homey’ environment of the household, despite him and Anastasia being the only two occupants in the house right now. She had informed him just after they had met that she lives in the city centre in a penthouse that she had inherited from her brother, but for the duration of her training, they both will live in this house.

He did not want to stay in the house at first, but after some consideration, and a few very successful debates and reasoning from the young blonde, he had no choice but to give in, so from now on, this will be his residence.

“So, what do you want to do first, see your room or eat?”

“Room,” is all Bryan says, he not being a guy that loves to chit chat, especially with young kids, and in his eyes, Anastasia is still a kid. Anastasia just nods her head and goes to help pick up one of Bryan’s bags, but he beats her to it, Anastasia saying nothing in the process.

Bryan follows her and quickly scans the area as they walk through the dining room heading to the stairs, and just like the kitchen, the dining room also has a welcoming effect on him, although he is not sure what is giving him that effect; he will investigate it later on. 

The two start to ascend the stairs and Bryan sees the various pictures that are up against the wall, immediately recognising Anastasia’s murdered family members. There are a few other people that he does not recognise, but takes them as other family members, or just friends. 

The last two months while Anastasia had exercised to get fit, he had started his own little investigation into the Grekov murders, reading up on how they were murdered. Kai did a job well done in covering his tracks, but that is what he is good at after all. The slitting of the throats sure sounds like Kai’s work, but the thing that Bryan just cannot understand is how come Anastasia is still alive? Sure, she has explained to him that she was in America at the time of the murders, but that has never stopped Kai before, so why is she still alive? There is no way Kai could not have known about her because Kai is no idiot; he does his homework thoroughly and even in these photos one can clearly see that Anastasia is a part of the family, so why did Kai not go after her as well?

The two finally reach the second floor and his room is the one on the right, and he is quite surprised by the size of it when he walks in. The colour scheme is light blue with a dark brown, a surprising good colour scheme in his opinion. There is a king size bed, a very comfortable bed and he can already see himself doing some serious sleeping on it. There is a dresser, a desk with a computer, two bed stands on each side of the bed with a lamp on each, an en-suite bathroom, a walk in closet, and even a broad and comfortable window sill where he can sit if he wants to look out of the window. 

“I hope it’s alright for all of your needs; if you want another room, just say the word, and we can go and see the other rooms.”

“No, it’s fine,” is all Bryan says.

“Okay, good; my room is the last one on the left. If you’d like, I will let you get settled in and then show you the rest of the house, especially the area that has all of the gym equipment in.”

Bryan places his luggage onto the comfortable bluish-grey carpet, Anastasia seeing this as a sign that he wants to unpack, but just as she is about to walk out and close the door, Bryan stops her, “The tour and the rest of the stuff will have to wait. Get dressed warmly; we are going out. There is something you have to see before we start with anything else.”

Unsure of what else to say, Anastasia just nods her head and then leaves to get dressed, and not long after that, she is sitting next to Bryan in his truck, the two driving in silence to whatever destination Bryan has in mind.

The last two months had been quite hectic for the young Grekov woman, mostly on her body. Two months to get fit is a very short time for anyone; most people take like six months, even a year, to get fit, but she had to do it in two months. That alone has already shown her that Bryan is a no nonsense guy, and that he is a hard worker. But she has done it, or at least, she is fitter than she was before. She had exercised every day and only allowed herself a day off every second week.

Every morning she would get up at five; then she would fix herself a protein drink and then go for a jog, increasing it with half a mile every third day, a very brutal and dangerous thing to do to her body, but she had no choice. After the jog she would then take a shower and then head out to the gym where she spent about three hours in the morning, doing all types of exercises; then she would have brunch, getting in all of the necessary nutrients and then she would give herself a break, but in that break she usually had to organise all types of stuff, like purchasing the various gym equipment, spend some time with her cousins so that they don’t get suspicious, and after all of her errands had been finished, she would go back to the gym and spend another three to four hours exercising. Then in the evening, she would jog some more, and usually by eight at night, she was already in bed, her body being completely drained from energy.

Anastasia and Bryan did not really have much contact over the past two months, only when he would call to ask her how she is progressing. She hardly knows the guy, but still she feels very comfortable and trusting with him; the fact that she has invited him to come and stay with her is saying a lot. All she really knows about him is that he is nine years older than her, so it is no wonder he calls her kid. She does not know anything about his professional life, like what type of work he does, if he even works. For some reason, she just cannot imagine Bryan sitting in an office all day; he is way too rugged for such an occupation. A dangerous work suits him best, or the military, because he has the body and the attitude for it.

Bryan really is a huge guy, very muscular and Anastasia is almost certain that he will be able to do lifts with her body, and she alone is not a short woman. Bryan carries himself with so much dignity, this being somewhat alluring to the young woman. A strong man that gives off a strong aura and attitude can really do strange things to a woman’s thoughts and hormones, as Anastasia has come to learn, despite just talking to Bryan mostly over the phone. His voice gives off a very strong tone, along with that deep masculinity within his voice, and even that is very alluring to Anastasia, but she dares not voice this to anyone; it is going to be her own dirty little secret, and just hers alone. 

Anastasia is certain that overtime she and Bryan will become more comfortable with each other, and then hopefully they will be able to talk more. He has warned her a few times already that the path she is about to take is a dangerous and a very dark road, and that she will be exposed to things that will give her nightmares for years to come. Bryan probably thought that it would scare her enough for her to back out of it, but she is not one to give up easily. She is certain that it all will be worth it in the end.

It is already dark, and they have been driving for quite some time.

‘At least the radio is on,’ Anastasia thinks to herself while looking out of the window.

Just then she starts to take notice of their surroundings, and she does not like it one bit. She does not even know this part of Moscow, and with good reason too because it does not look like your regular friendly neighbourhood. She looks over at Bryan who only has one hand on the steering wheel but he is just focused on the road in front of them, that he does not even spare her a glance.

“Err, Bryan, where are we going?”

“Like I said, kid, I want to show you something. We are almost there.”

And sure enough, the truck comes to a standstill underneath an old bridge, but in the distance Anastasia can a see a train station, and the train is already waiting for the passengers to get on. Bryan gets out of the truck without saying anything and Anastasia follows suit. After locking the truck, Bryan starts to head for the train, Anastasia right behind him. She notices that they are heading for the very small building where the train is currently at. Bryan purchases two tickets and then heads for the train, Anastasia still right behind him. The train only has two carts, excluding the locomotive, and there are hardly any passengers in the carts. The two get in, each taking a separate seat seeing as there is more than enough space for everyone, and within minutes, the train is off.

The ride is almost half an hour long until it finally comes to a stop, and the moment Anastasia and Bryan gets off, a dreadful feeling comes over Anastasia, and she does not like it. She did not even know that a place like this exists in her home city, and she would have preferred it this way. She hears the train take off, noticing that she and Bryan is the only two that had gotten off.

Anastasia looks around, seeing a few cars in the distance but it does not look like someone lives in this area. She keeps looking around when she suddenly feels how Bryan takes her gently by her right upper arm and pulls her closer to him so that their bodies are almost pressed up against each other, and then she notices his hold on her arm. Anastasia does not understand this gesture but does not ask, not wanting to offend Bryan in any way. She immediately feels the heat being radiated off of his body, despite both of them wearing thick jackets.

There are hardly any street lamps on, but she can clearly see that they are making their way towards a very huge, old looking warehouse. She hears a few men laugh in the distance, fear quickly consuming her entire being as her entire body stiffens, Bryan noticing this.

“Don’t worry, kid; I won’t let anything happen to you,” his voice sounding soft and caring as he says it.

“Okay,” and somehow after hearing that, Anastasia starts to feel much safer and calmer about everything.

The two enter the building and then walks straight to a very old rusty door, Bryan knocking on the door in a sequence: two knocks then a pause and then tree knocks, before the small window halfway up the door slides open, and an angry looking man looks at them.

“Black widow,” is all Bryan says before the door is opened, and he and Anastasia are allowed in.

The immediate overwhelming smell of smoke bombards Anastasia’s nose, almost causing her to puke. Anastasia can see a long hallway in front of them, the lighting very bad and it is in this hallway that they are currently walking in, heading for another door at the end, and still Bryan has not divulged anything to her, but for some unknown reason she trusts him, and she knows that he will not allow any harm to come to her.

They finally reach the door, but before Bryan opens it, he turns to Anastasia, looking very serious, “You will stay close by my side at all times, got it?”

“Yeah, sure. What is this place, Bryan?”

“This is just a taste of what you will experience if you get involved in the world of organised crime. Behind this door are some very bad people, horrible people, people who love to see blood of others get spilled. You have to see this so that you know what you are getting yourself into. If, after this, you want to back out of our deal, I will not stop you; the choice is yours. Remember, stay by my side at all times.”

With only a nod from Anastasia, Bryan opens the door and that is when she hears the screaming and cheering of people, both men and women. She sees the many people, many waving money notes in their hands, screaming at something that is situated much deeper into the room. Bryan leaves Anastasia’s side, the young woman almost going into a panic mode until she feels Bryan come stand right behind her, placing his hands firmly on her hips, pulling her very close to him, and slowly starts to lead her through the crowd towards whatever the people are screaming at.

Despite the young woman being scared, her body just cannot help but react to Bryan’s touch, his big manly hands on her hips and her body pressed up against his, her mind starts to wander to other areas which involves a bed, two naked bodies and messed up bedding. She places her gloved hands on top his hands and their fingers entwine, Bryan’s grip on her hands becoming firmer. 

‘Get your head out of the gutter, Grekov! Good Lord! You are like a hormonal teenage boy!’ she scolds herself within her mind after realising what she is actually thinking of, instead of concentrating on what is going on at the moment.

They take a few feet more before they reach the centre of attention, and immediately Anastasia’s thoughts of her and Bryan in bed disappear in an instant, all thanks to what is currently happening right in front of her. She stops dead in her tracks, feeling Bryan pull her even closer to him until she is pressed completely against his body, but not even that can take her mind off of what she is seeing at this very moment.

There, right in front of her, is a cage containing two men, both covered in blood and one of them are looking like he is about to faint. Just then the two men attack each other once more, blood being splattered all over the floor of the cage, Anastasia seeing it clearly as she and Bryan are right in front of the cage. The people continue to cheer for whoever they had placed their bets on. Anastasia looks on in horror at how brutal the men are hitting each other, but after a few more punches, the one guy finally hits the floor, the one that had looked like he was about to faint. The winner raises his arms and walks around all victorious inside the cage, showing off his strength and being very cocky about his victory. Anastasia is completely appalled by the scene, unable to comprehend of how people can enjoy something like this, so cruel and so animalistic. She had always thought that things like these only happen in the movies, but right now she is experiencing it firsthand.

Anastasia makes to turn around, thinking that the fight is over but Bryan stops her, whispering into her ear that it is not over, so she reluctantly turns back around to face the cage once more, and that is when she sees that the door to the cage being opened, and that a man with a chainsaw comes walking in, handing the chainsaw to the winner who takes the chainsaw with a sadistic and malice grin on his face which resembles that of a maniac.

The winner of the fight starts up the chainsaw, walking over to the guy that had just lost the match and while the crowd starts to cheer even louder out of sheer happiness, he starts to decapitate the man with the chainsaw, leaving the people that had placed their bets on the winner, ecstatic. Anastasia does not witness the decapitation as she had turned her head away the moment she realised what is about to happen, but she can still hear the saw cut though the flesh.

Bryan’s grip on Anastasia becomes even firmer just to indicate to her that he is still there and that she will be fine. Not long after that, the chainsaw stops, meaning only one thing: the loser has been decapitated. Anastasia cannot bring herself to witness the horror and just keeps her head away from the cage. She is starting to feel very sick and very nauseous, and luckily for her, Bryan takes notice of this.

“Come on, kid; let’s go,” is all he whispers into her hear with his deep and masculine voice.

Bryan leads them through the crowds back to the entrance, down the hallway and out of the door, and finally they are back in the open air. Anastasia says nothing; the only noise coming from her is that of a silent sniffing. Bryan knows that what he had done was very cruel, but she has to face reality of what she is about to get herself into. He was a part of that world for a very long time and he has seen some horrible things, he has done unspeakable things, and he has done many of them by Kai’s side, and that is why he wants Anastasia to know what she is getting herself into.

In the world of The Chernyy Feniks mob, things are worse, way worse than what the young blonde had just witnessed now. He is really hoping that she will let this crazy idea go of wanting to get revenge on Kai; Bryan has been hoping for it the past two months, but he has just not been that lucky. Hopefully tonight might have changed her mind. He hardly knows her but he does not want anyone to get involved in that type of life because it is dark, dangerous, horrible and cruel, and clearly Anastasia does not belong in such a world.

The train ride back to the station is quick but this time Bryan remains seated next to Anastasia, the blonde holding her head low, not once looking in Bryan’s direction. The ride back home is exactly the same, with the occasional sniffing coming from Anastasia.

They finally reach home and both head for the kitchen after climbing out of Bryan’s truck and heads in to the house. Anastasia heads straight for the alcohol cabinet where she removes a full bottle of vodka, and just as she is about to open it to start drinking from it, Bryan takes the bottle from her, causing her to glare at him with fury in her eyes.

“Give me back my bottle, now.”

“No; you don’t need this.”

“Give me back my bottle!”

Anastasia tries to grab it, but Bryan being 6’7, makes it impossible for her to get it, especially since he is holding it in the air.

“Fine! Then I will get another bottle!”

Anastasia goes back to the alcohol cabinet to retrieve another bottle of vodka, but Bryan stops her in her tracks by grabbing her by her left arm, turning her to face him, she once again glaring at him.

“You had to see that stuff because you will see way worse once you get involved in Kai’s world, and many of it will take place by your hands. Do you still want to get involved with all of that dark shit?!”

Anastasia’s eyes just narrows, but she still glares at Bryan, while saying nothing.

While still holding her, he keeps on talking, hoping that he can make her understand that what she is about to get involved with is dangerous, very, very dangerous.

“If you thought that what you saw tonight was bad, you have no idea what they do in the mob; there is no room for mercy, pity, sympathy, or any other emotions for that fact. You had to see this, kid. You had to see what is going to happen when you get involved in a world where everyone is blood thirsty. I am sure that your family would not have wanted you to get involved with such dark things.”

Anastasia yanks her arm from Bryan’s hold, still glaring at him with hate and fury.

“You don’t know shit!” is all she says while her voice drips with venom. 

“Fine; I am out of here; good luck with your revenge, and don’t let me know how it went because I am not interested,” and without saying anything else, Bryan turns around, and leaves the kitchen.

Anastasia is still seething with anger and shock all mixed up over what she had seen earlier, her body trembling with anger. She hardly focuses on what Bryan had said; all she could manage to hear was something of not interested. She looks at the bottle of vodka on the counter and then she looks at where Bryan had disappeared to, contemplating with herself on what is more important now: down the bottle of vodka, or go and look for Bryan.

With a deep sign, she decides on the latter, and then heads for the stairs, but just as she is about to ascend them, Bryan comes down with his bags, and for some reason, this sight alone causes some form of hurt on the inside of Anastasia. Bryan walks right past her without even looking at her, leaving her utterly confused.

“Where are you going? I thought that you are going to stay here while you help me train.”

Bryan says nothing and just keeps on walking, and just as he is about to reach the backdoor that leads to the garage where his truck is parked, Anastasia runs to him, grabbing him by his arm.

“Bryan, please, where are you going? You can’t just leave.”

The lavender haired man does not even look at Anastasia, his grip on his bags tightening, he feeling how his temper is about to explode. He remains silent while Anastasia still has her hold on him.

“Please, don’t leave; look, I am really sorry for how I had acted just now and for saying that you don’t know shit, but you have to understand, it was all just so overwhelming for me. I had no idea that we lived in such a cruel world.”

Still no response is coming from Bryan.

“I am begging you, please don’t go. I appreciate that you showed me what is going on, I really do, but for one who is not use to seeing such brutality, it is a hard pill to swallow.”

“You are weak, kid,” is all Bryan says without looking at Anastasia.

She is a little taken back by that but decides to remain calm, maybe he has more to say.

“I don’t tolerate weakness and I have already told you that. Acting childish is showing weakness, and you can’t have any form of weakness if you want to get involved in Kai’s world, and yes, you still have to get involved with the mob to get to him. This was the first and the last time that you had acted this way,” Bryan says and finally turns around, looking at Anastasia with a very serious look in his eyes and on his face, “got it?”

Anastasia releases her hold on Bryan and just nods her head, his tone of voice showing her that he is dead serious.

“If, after witnessing that killing from earlier, you still want to get involved with the mob, I will help you up until the very end, but heed this warning, kid: if you ever show me any form of disrespect or act like a selfish little brat again, you can struggle all on your own.”

“I promise, and thank you for giving me a second chance. I will not screw it up, I promise.”

“Good; I am going to take my stuff back upstairs and then we are leaving for dinner.”

Anastasia cannot help but smile at that, just nodding her head in approval.

‘Wow, I dodged a bullet there; the guy sure is temperamental, but I will take that any time of any day, as long as it gets me to Kai in the end. Your days are numbered Kai Hiwatari. The build up to your death has just begun.’

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The moans of a woman and manly grunts can be heard clearly, along with the skin on skin impact, along with heavy breathing, and that can only mean one thing: someone is busy having sex, and that someone is Kai.

A silent gasp escapes him while his hands dig into the skin of the woman that he is having sex with at the moment, as he has just reached his climax while holding her tight by her hips, while she is bent over his office desk, a place where Kai regularly has sex, most of the time it being during office hours.

The thrusting stops, and giving one smack to the naked ass of the dark haired woman, Kai removes himself and then removes the condom, the woman still leaning on her forearms on top of the desk, while panting. Kai does not care whether she has come or not because she is just a regular good looking woman to him, nothing unique, so there is no need to please her first because it will not add to his pleasure. After removing the condom and throwing it in the dustbin, he pulls up his boxers and pants, and buttons up his black shirt, and by the time he has finished dressing himself, the woman has also recomposed herself, she also tidying herself up. Kai does not even look at her, and just reaches for his pack of cigarettes and lights one after retrieving it, he walking to the window to overlook the river.

The dark haired woman just looks at Kai, knowing full well that he had just got what he had wanted so she is not needed anymore, maybe later during the day or during the night.

“I will see you around, Kai.”

Without looking at her and casually taking a drag from his cigarette, he acknowledges her, “I will see you tonight,” and without waiting for him to say anything else, which is highly unlikely, the woman leaves the office with a huge grin on her face.

She knows that Kai is only using her for sex, just like he has used many women before her, but she does not care. She can be used by the young business man any day of the year and she will not feel cheap, because just the mere thought that he has noticed her and that he is willing to show his naked body to her, is a dream come true for any woman who has a thing for the young Hiwatari. Any woman that should deny Kai’s advances must be crazy because who in their right mind will be able to deny such a gorgeous man.

The woman walks right past Vera, the grin still plastered on her facial features. Vera just shakes her head from side to side when the young woman walks past her desk, the elder woman knowing exactly what had just transpired in that office. She is no stranger to Kai’s sexual appetite, and although she has advised him on numerous times to stop sleeping with so many women, he just chuckled at her and then walked away.

Vera also knows by now that whenever a woman comes to visit Kai at his office and she does not have someone accompanying her, or she does not have a briefcase with her, she is there for a entire different reason. Kai does not allow anything to stand in his way when he is horny, which is almost the entire time. If he is in the mood, then he is in the mood and nothing is going to stop him from doing it. He even had an en suite bathroom built in to his office which he always uses after he has had sex, and he always has at least three to four extra sets of clothes at his office to pick from after he has finished with his shower.

Vera returns back to work after watching the woman get into the elevator, the woman still grinning from ear to ear, but after she goes in, a familiar red head comes walking out of the elevator, and Vera just smiles, she having a very soft spot for the red head, along with his best friend. She feels like a mother to the two young men, Kai and Tala feeling like her sons seeing as both have practically grown up right before her.

“Morning, my dear sweet lovable mistress,” Tala says jokingly while smiling brightly at the woman, she in return just chuckling at him, knowing his crazy antics all too well by now.

“Morning, Tala, and how are you this lovely day?”

“Now that I have seen you, it is going just absolutely great.”

“And how is my sweet Alisia?”

At this Tala just smiles even more, his eyes just lighting up by just the thought of his wife, “Crazy as always, but she sends her regards, and she told me that I have to remind you about the kitchen tea on Saturday for her sister.”

“Don’t worry, dear, I have not forgotten; I will be there.”

“Excellent; is Kai in?”

Vera just sighs at this, Tala already knowing what that means, he just chuckling at her response, “I take it he has had some female company, that woman that had just left?”

“Yes, and by the looks of it, it looks like he, how do you young people say it now a days, ‘has rocked her world’.”

Tala just bursts out laughing, “That is exactly the saying, Vera. Well, let me leave you to it, I quickly have to see the boss man. I will see you shortly, you sexy vixen,” Tala says while winking at Vera, the old lady almost blushing at that gesture.

Tala walks towards Kai’s office, a newspaper gripped under his left arm, and without knocking, he enters the office. He luckily catches Kai just as he is about to go and take a shower.

“I have something to show you,” Tala says while swinging the newspaper about.

“Hn,” is all Kai replies before going through the door that leads to his en suite bathroom, Tala just smiling at this.

The red head goes over to Kai’s comfortable three seated black leather couch and proceeds to make himself comfortable, and just stares out of the window. Tala hears the water being turned on and slouches more into the couch, closing his eyes for a while until Kai finishes with his shower. 

Almost fifteen minutes passes by until the bathroom door opens, Kai walking out feeling refreshed and smelling good. He heads straight for his desk to get a cigarette, Tala remaining in his slouched position on the couch, his arms crossed in front of his chest. After having lit his cigarette, Kai walks towards the couch, sitting on the couch opposite the one that Tala is currently occupying, this couch only a single seated couch. Tala just pushes the newspaper towards Kai, using his foot to slide it over the surface of the glass coffee table, Kai not minding this action; that is how he knows Tala after all. Kai takes the newspaper and leans back into the couch, opening up the folded newspaper, just smirking after looking at the front page.

“Kournikova has already called, congratulating us on the progress we have made up until now; he has already deposited the payment.”

“Where do we stand now?”

“Six down, seven to go.”

“After tonight it will only be six to go.”

Tala just raises an eyebrow at that, Kai knowing that the gesture means Tala is asking for Kai to elaborate some more on the issue.

“I am going after the second family tonight, the one with only the father and the two sixteen year old twins. They will be having dinner at a fancy restaurant, all thanks to a voucher that has been so generously offered to the father, and I will be ready and waiting to take them out; Kournikova did say that the assassination should be done in a public place.”

Tala just shakes his head from side to side, feeling glad that he is not the one that has to kill children, but Kai has no problem with it. Tala can see that Kai is already very excited about the hit tonight, the glint in his eyes one of the signs indicating it, among a few other signs; Kai almost looks like a nine year old boy that has just heard that he is going to spend the entire day at a theme park.

“I can see that you are looking very forward to this kill.”

Kai just smirks at his best friend, while taking an extra deep drag from his cigarette and blowing the smoke up into the air. He leans even more back into his couch after tossing the newspaper back on top of the glass coffee table, the front page in full view.

On the newspaper reads ‘Another politician falls from glory’, and it details how another presidential elect has been caught up in a scandal, this one involving money laundering and fraud, and incriminating evidence has been found on the man’s laptop and his personal bank accounts, a few that has been opened up in offshore bank accounts. Of course none of this is true but the evidence shows that it is true, but of course the politician is denying everything. The whole thing has been orchestrated by The Chernyy Feniks, this being their sixth target that has been eliminated.

It has already been four months since the assassination of the first family, and after that, four others have been taken care of; one of them had died in a horrible car accident; another died of food poisoning, the other died of heart complications after he was given the wrong heart medication, sending the poor man into cardiac arrest, the doctors unable to stabilise him. Tala and Kai are very good in organising these various unfortunate events, both men having done it since their teens, and there is no way a finger can be pointed to anyone other than the person that it is meant to be hurt. The two men still have six months left before they reach their deadline, and after tonight they will still have six targets left from the list. The fate of the last seven has already been established.

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Summertime is in full swing, the people of Moscow enjoying every moment of it. All around the city people can be seen wearing short clothes, some basking in the sun during the day, and at night, they are just walking around, admiring the beauty of their beautiful city, taking in all of the green that is in the city. Some have a picnic next to the river; others take long walks, all in the comfort of their summer wear. Unfortunately, in about two to three months, the cold will start creeping closer, rendering an end to the lush green world of Moscow.

It is currently night time and many people are out having a good time, whether it is eating dinner at a restaurant or just visiting some friends, or taking a stroll in the beautiful city that is Moscow, they are all having a good time. There is a small breeze blowing, but luckily the sky is clear of any clouds tonight.

On the roof of a three storey building, a young man is causally smoking his cigarette while looking out at the people down in the streets. With his sniper rifle positioned on its stand, and the young man being dressed in all black, he is waiting for a certain trio to make their appearance at the restaurant situated across the street from the three storey building.

Kai glances down at his watch, seeing that it is almost nine o’ clock, the reservation for the family being for nine, the family that Kai is going to assassinate tonight; he can hardly contain his excitement.

Kai has sent the voucher for the family, using an anonymous name, and he has made sure that the family has a table right beside a window so that he can make the kills easily. After he has made the kill, he is going to visit the woman that he has had in his office earlier in the day, and he plans to do her properly and hard.

Kai continues looking down while waiting for the family, spotting three young women giggling at something on the phone of the one girl, Kai finding all three of them very attractive, especially the blonde one in the middle. Kai has always had a thing for blondes, he is not sure why, but they are usually his first choice when approaching a woman, although he prefers all types of hair colours; blonde is just first in the line. Kai continues looking at the three giggling beauties, finding the scene very amusing but his entertainment is cut short when he finally spots the car that he has been waiting for the entire time. Luckily the family is early for their reservation, meaning Kai can finish his job earlier. Kai watches how the father and the two children climb out and enters the restaurant, and soon enough, Kai spots them taking a seat next to a window, the father and daughter sitting next to each other, the son sitting across them.

Kai chucks his cigarette and then leans towards his gun, looking through his telescope with his right eye so that he can position the gun at the correct angle; he wants three perfect head shots. Adrenaline is rushing through the young man’s veins, he suddenly feeling very alive. If he has to choose between this and sex, he will be unable to choose between the two because they are equally exhilarating and he will also be unable to give up any one of the two; he lives for both the sex and the kill.

Kai stands up straight after positioning his sniper rifle and takes out another cigarette. He will give the family enough time to at least have something to drink before he takes them out. He leans on to the edge of the building, just enjoying the soft night breeze slightly ruffling his hair. He looks at the three young ladies, they still standing in the same spot, and just talking. If he weren’t working right now, he most definitely would have approached them and ask for their numbers, giving each girl about two to three weeks of his time, depending on how good the sex would have been, but alas, that is not going to happen.

‘Such a loss,’ is all Kai thinks to himself about the situation with the three young ladies.

Kai finishes his cigarette and takes his position behind his rifle. He gets into a comfortable position and looks through the telescope, seeing the family of three all laughing at something. Kai cocks his gun, aiming it at the teenage son first, the gun aiming for the left side of his head. Without any hesitation, Kai pulls the trigger, hitting his target dead on. Kai watches as the boy goes silent, his head falling face flat on top of the table, the father and sister immediately by his side. Kai pulls the lever and releases the empty bullet casing from the gun, a new one going into the barrel, ready to be fired once more. Kai slightly moves the angle of the gun, positioning it on the father’s head this time, and with a sly smile on his face, Kai once again gently pulls the trigger, another perfect head shot, the father also falling, but unlike his son, he falls to the floor, and by now the people inside the restaurant have started to panic.

‘Now for you, sweetheart,’ Kai thinks to himself while locking the gun on the girl. She proves to be a bit more difficult because she is constantly moving her head, looking from side to side, and up and down.

“Stand still, you little bitch,” Kai says out loud, becoming very annoyed and impatient with the teenage girl. She does not stand still leaving Kai with no option but to just shoot at her at any place he can get a steady aim at. He aims for her chest and after dispersing the empty bullet case and a new one in to the barrel, he pulls the trigger, hitting the girl right on the spot where her heart is situated, and she also drops to the floor, people now running out of the restaurant in a panic.

Kai straightens himself up and then starts dismantling the gun. He just smirks at all of the hysterical people running around. By the time the police arrives, he will be long gone. The black phoenix strikes again.

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Brown and orange coloured leafs are adorning the streets and yards of Moscow, autumn being in full swing. The breeze that is blowing is indicating the arrival of winter which will be shortly, maybe in about two to three weeks’ time, and then it will be cold and gloomy for a long time.

It is Friday morning and the streets of Moscow are buzzing with life, the streets and shops being filled with people who are doing some shopping for the coming weekend, some taking off from work to treat themselves to a long weekend; others are not as fortunate, as they most probably will have to work the weekend.

In a small, yet busy, coffee shop, a burly lavender haired man is sitting on his own at a table, leisurely sipping on his steaming cup of coffee while reading through the newspaper. No one in the coffee shop has bothered to make conversation with the rugged man, his appearance giving off the aura that he does not want to be bothered.

Bryan has decided that he and Anastasia does not need to train today; they both deserve some time off and also some time away from each other. Nothing bad had happened between them, but Bryan just feels that they have to have some other surroundings and people around them for a while, so not only are they not training today, they have the whole weekend off. Anastasia has gone for the weekend, mentioning that she and her two cousins are going to St Petersburg for some concert of some metal band. Both he and the young blonde deserves some time off because they have been training six days a week since he has moved in with her, and although he is a tough and very fit guy, even he knows that he has to have some time off, and this weekend will be more than enough for now.

Bryan continues drinking his coffee until the waiter approaches him with the breakfast that he has ordered for himself. He places the newspaper one side, and starts to eat, his thoughts wondering to what he had just read in the newspaper, the front page once again being about another presidential candidate that has dropped out of the election, this time also by being involved in a scandal, a drug scandal no less.

Apparently he has been a drug pusher for some time, a couple of witnesses have come forth, but Bryan knows better than to believe the newspaper. Sure, there is no doubt about the crucial evidence that has been found, but Bryan knows all too well that _that_ evidence has been planted, and he knows who is behind it all: The Chernyy Feniks mob.

Bryan has been following this story for the last couple of months, observing all of the various ways in which these people have ‘so-called’ dropped from the election, whether it be by accident or by some illness or some scandal, it has been insured that they will be removed from the election. Bryan is just wondering how many more there are that has to be eliminated. Bryan has also read about the two families that have been assassinated, including a toddler, and Bryan is 200% certain that Kai is behind it all, seeing as the young man has no problem in killing both women and children.

He is going to continue to follow these happenings until the time of the presidential election; only then will he know how many victims were assigned to The Chernyy Feniks to take out, and more importantly, who had been behind it all and who have hired the services of The Chernyy Feniks.

Bryan stops eating to take a sip from his coffee, and just leans back into his chair after placing the cup back on to the saucer, scanning the outside world through the window, and also giving his food a chance to settle before he continues eating. Two tall blonde haired teenage girls enters the cafe, the two still dressed in their school uniforms, it being clear that they are skipping school. Bryan watches from the corner of his eye as the two giggling teens find a table to sit at. They may be blonde but they do not seem anything like Anastasia.

A small smirk appears on Bryan’s face, just thinking about the blonde. She sure has a strong will, and she is a very fast learner, although she still has a long way to go before she is fully ready to go into the world of organised crime. She has shown no sign of quitting, which just amazes him.

The blonde haired woman really is determined to kill Kai, and it almost fills him with a sense of pride, knowing that he is helping her and training her in achieving that. So far he has taught her everything there is to know in order to defend herself seeing as that is the most important thing in keeping herself alive. She may still need about two or three more months of training in the self defence area before he is going to teach her all of the attack techniques, which will be a bit more difficult than the defence techniques because she will have to learn how to use her body in various ways as a weapon, whether it is to kill or seriously injure her opponent.

After that, he will teach her how to use various weapons; he will teach her all about the various guns, knives, sharp weapons, blunt weapons, everything that she will have to use in the mob world, but with that he will most definitely need help, because Anastasia will then have to learn how to take on more than one opponent at a time. That will be the hardest training for her, but he has complete faith in the young Grekov woman. She has proved over and over again that she is more than capable of handling anything that is thrown her way. She just might fit in perfectly within Kai’s world.

Kai Hiwatari, Bryan just gives a deep sigh just thinking about Kai. He does not the hate the young businessman, in fact, he has lots of respect for Kai, but he is not going to stand in the way of his coming death. Kai deserves it, every bit of bad luck that is coming his way. After all, Kai has done way worse than that to others without batting an eye.

Breaking his thoughts away from Anastasia and Kai, Bryan goes back to eating his food in absolute peace, just enjoying the rest of the autumn morning.

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It is rather late at night, and it is freezing, the temperatures having dropped into the negative digits. The streets of Moscow are almost void of life, everyone escaping from the harsh winter weather; however, two occupants are not cosy in a bed right now. Bryan and Anastasia, each with a bag of food in their arms, are making their way out of a convenient store after finishing up some late night grocery shopping. The two have been so busy throughout the day with Anastasia’s training that they completely forgot about shopping for food, and yes, the grocery shopping was necessary. They were also the last shoppers at the convenient store, the owner already starting to lock up the moment Bryan and Anastasia walked out with their groceries.

One thing that Anastasia has noticed about Bryan, is that he clearly dislikes it if someone else is paying for something. The two of them have already had quite a few heated arguments because Bryan simply refuses that Anastasia pay for anything, and she again hates it seeing as she had been the one to make him an offer, all expenses included. Bryan knows that Anastasia has a valid argument but he still does not allow her to pay for things, for example, the food that they had just bought, Bryan once again had paid for it, he simply ignoring the glaring coming from the young blonde haired woman.

Anastasia has even had trouble in getting his bank account details out of him so that she can start paying him for his time, but alas, after lots and LOTS of nagging, Bryan finally gave in, mostly because he wanted some peace and quiet for his mind and soul for a change, because Anastasia sure knows how to get her way, something that he had to learn in a very unpleasant way.

The debate on who pays and who does not pay does not seem like it is going to be solved anytime soon, but if it all depends on Anastasia, it won’t be long before Bryan will have to start bending according to her will because she plans on outsmarting the large man; it is only a matter of time.

Bryan had parked his truck some distance away from the shop seeing as the parking lots in front of the shop is covered with snow, and Bryan is not in the mood to shuffle snow tonight; he is tired, hungry, and miserable and in dire need of some sleep.

The two are not conversing on their way to the truck, both lost in their own thoughts. Anastasia is thinking about new clothes that she wants to buy after she had spotted them the previous day; Bryan’s thoughts are with The Chernyy Feniks mob and a news article that he has read earlier that day, about a family that has been murdered in their home, and the house then being burned down. The only way the family could be identified were thanks to dental records, the family consisting of both parents with three daughters, ages being 8, 15 and 17 years old. Bryan knows for a fact that Kai was involved, which brings the total of deaths or so-called accidents to a total of 13. 

The two are almost at Bryan’s truck when they suddenly hear several steps behind them, feet scrunching on the wet pavement, and then the distinct click of a gun that has been cocked, this action immediately halting Bryan in his steps; Anastasia only stops after Bryan stops. Bryan does not turn around but Anastasia does, she immediately seeing four thugs in very close proximity to both her and Bryan, and neither one of them look like they want to make friendly conversation with either of them, seeing as the one is pointing a gun directly at Bryan, Anastasia feeling how panic is quickly taking over her rational mind.

Bryan also turns around, just glaring at the four thugs, while quickly analysing each guy, just in case he has to get physical with them. The only weapon that Bryan has on him is his hunting knife, safely tucked within his right combat boot; it is not a gun but that has never stopped him before, neither has it failed him in the past when it came to defending himself.

“Can we help you?” Anastasia asks, she being the first one to make conversation.

“Yeah; the keys to the truck, all of your valuable items and the food in your arms.”

Anastasia and Bryan lock eyes, Bryan appearing very pissed; he does not care about the food or whatever other valuables he has on him, but there is no way in hell that he is handing over his truck. He would much rather get into a brawl with all four of them than give up his truck. The only thing preventing him from attacking all four guys right now is Anastasia; sure, she can defend herself, but she will not be able to fight back, and he is certain that she will try to fight with at least one of the guys. 

“Forget it,” is all Bryan says to the four guys while still looking Anastasia in the eye, he not missing the panic showing in Anastasia’s eyes.

“Don’t think that I will not use this gun; I have used it before to get what I want, and I will use it again.”

Bryan finally breaks his eye contact from Anastasia, slowly turning his head to the guy with the gun, Bryan quickly working on a strategy on how he will take out all four of the guys while preventing himself from getting shot, and more importantly, how to keep Anastasia out of harm’s way.

Thanks to the illumination coming from the streets lamps, Bryan immediately sees that the guy with the gun is shaking, and it is not because of the cold; these four guys are not really your typical street and intimidating thugs. They may be street guys, but they are still in their early days of living this type of lifestyle, making them very unsure about themselves, but that does not mean that they are less dangerous. Guys like these quickly lose focus, and then just starts to act on instinct, not thinking about their actions, and that is where the true danger lies.

Without giving anyone a second to think about anything, Bryan throws his bag of groceries at the guy holding the gun, quickly disarming him, this action catching everyone off guard, including Anastasia. Bryan attacks the guy that had just held the gun, hitting him hard in the face, certain that he had just broken his nose, but the other three immediately retaliate, the remaining three attacking Bryan all at once. At least Bryan manages to shout through all of the commotion for Anastasia to run, hoping that she will listen to him and run for safety.

Anastasia just watches everything unfold right in front of her, scared and panicked because she has no idea of what to do. She clearly heard Bryan instruct her to run, but she just cannot do it, knowing that she will leave him behind and alone. Sure, he has taken four guys on before, but this time she is here and a little bit more experienced than when they had met a year ago.

Making up her mind, she also throws down her grocery bag, and gets involved in the fighting by jumping onto the back of one of the guys that has managed to grab Bryan from behind while the lavender haired man is trying to fight the other two guys off at the front. This causes the guy to stumble away from Bryan and the others, leading both him and Anastasia away from the little commotion, the blonde haired woman still clinging on tightly to his back, the guy swinging about trying to shake Anastasia off of him. The guy that had held the gun earlier is sitting on the pavement, holding his nose while the struggle is going on around him.

In between the struggle, Bryan notices the weight at his back being gone, and that alone frightens him, knowing very well that Anastasia has just gotten involved, and this immediately pisses him off in the process, because she did not listen to him about running. He manages to get a glimpse of Anastasia, seeing her clinging on tightly to the back of the guy, constantly hitting the back of his head with her right fist.

Bryan is so focused on both his struggle and that of Anastasia, and Anastasia is so focused on her own struggle, that neither one of them notices the unguarded gun lying on the pavement, and that the wounded guy is quietly making his way towards the gun to retrieve it. He quietly picks it up, the gun still being loaded, and then aims the gun at its target, pulling the trigger without any hesitation, the firing of the gun echoing through the night sky, halting everyone in their steps.

Bryan turns around and looks straight at the wounded guy, the guy trembling and unable to cock the gun once more. He has the gun aimed at Bryan, but fear has taken over the poor soul. Bryan quickly attacks him, grabbing the gun from his grip, and at the same time, removes his knife from his boot. He points the gun towards the guy that is in a struggle with Anastasia, the lavender haired man demanding Anastasia to get off of his back. She does as she is told to, and walks towards Bryan, stopping right next to him.

All four men look at Bryan, knowing for a fact that they have lost and that the four of them are most likely going to get killed right now.

“Get the food and get it in the truck,” is all Bryan says to Anastasia, the young Grekov woman complying with his orders.

Bryan waits until she is safely in the truck before speaking to the four men, “Give me one reason not to kill all four of you right now.”

“We are really sorry; please, have pity on us.”

“Pathetic. You are willing to hurt other innocent people, but the moment the tables turn on you, you are begging for mercy. What a bunch of sissies. Go back to wherever you came from because not one of you will make it out on these streets,” and without saying anything else, Bryan places his knife back in his boot, and then proceeds to dismantle the gun, keeping the magazine with him while throwing the other parts towards the four men.

He gets into his truck, very pissed, and then just speeds off, Anastasia knowing very well not to say a word to him right now, because she did not listen to him, and by now she knows that Bryan hates it when she disobeys him.

Before anyone can say ‘disobey’, the two are back at the Grekov house, Bryan still very pissed. He grabs all of the grocery bags with one hand and slams the door of his truck with a great force, this making Anastasia very uneasy. She slowly gets out of the truck and as slow as she possibly can, makes her way towards the door, Bryan already inside of the house.

As Anastasia walks into the kitchen, she immediately spots a trail of crimson drops on the floor, her heart suddenly starting to beat in her ears and her breathing increasing because there is no doubt that it is blood. She starts to follow the trail, it leading upstairs. She knows that she had heard the gun shot, but assumed that it was just a warning shot because everyone seemed unharmed, but clearly that is not the case; Bryan did not show any indication of him being hurt.

‘The guy really is as hard as steel, and stubborn like an ass,’ she thinks to herself as she makes her way upstairs, it leading straight to Bryan’s bedroom. She is relieved to see the door open, and then hears the water start running in the bathroom the moment she walks in.

Bryan is standing in front of the mirror shirtless, he trying to examine the wound on his back, but it is proving kind of difficult, seeing as it is at a very uncomfortable place, it being just below his left shoulder blade bone. Luckily for him, he can feel that it is not a very deep wound, but he will have a tough time getting the bullet out, but it could have been worse, like, and God forbid, it could have been Anastasia that had been shot. He is just lucky that it had been amateur guys trying to rob them and not real street smart thugs. Bryan is still furious with Anastasia because she blatantly disobeyed him, and he knows that she knows that he hates being disobeyed.

‘Speak of the devil,’ he thinks to himself when he sees her reflection in the mirror, her facial expression showing how guilty she feels right now.

Anastasia immediately walks towards Bryan when she sees the wound on his back, and just as she is about to place a caring hand on Bryan, he stops her with simply saying ‘leave’ in a very demanding voice.

“Like hell I will,” is all she replies, the guilt and worried young woman quickly replaced with her witty old self.

She slaps Bryan’s hand away from the wound and then examines it herself, very relieved that she will be able to remove the bullet effortlessly.

“Sit down so that I can remove the bullet, clean the wound, stitch you up and cover it.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Just go sit down.”

The two just glare at each other in their reflections in the mirror until Bryan finally admits defeat. With a roll of his eyes, he takes a seat on the toilet cover, Anastasia leaving the bathroom with a very self satisfactory smirk.

In no time she is back with the first aid kit, ready to treat the wound. Anastasia has seen Bryan shirtless many times but never this close up, nor has she touched him this gently, taking in his tight back muscles, how each one is defined to perfection, making her wonder just how many years it had taken him to get his body this toned and this fit, and Bryan is really fit, almost making the Grekov woman envious.

As Anastasia cleans away the blood, she notices three scars just below the bullet wound, and on closer inspection, it looks like something that had tore through the skin, something like bullets as the scars are round, reminding her of what Vladimir had showed her about exit wounds of bullets, and there is no doubt that these are exit wounds. She quickly glances up at Bryan but his focus is somewhere else, so she takes this opportunity to inspect from an even closer view, her heart suddenly feeling like a fluttering butterfly within her chest because a realisation has just dawned on her: someone had shot Bryan, and by the looks of it, had tried to kill him because these scars are situated where his heart is situated.

‘If only I can see his front, I will be sure of this,’ she thinks to herself.

Anastasia proceeds to remove the bullet without any hassle and stitches up the wound, and then bandages it up, both she and Bryan not saying a word to each other the entire time, but at least it is not uncomfortable between the two. Bryan does not even notice when Anastasia applies the bandage to his wound, his thoughts far away from the current situation at hand. He is only brought out of his thoughts when he feels gentle fingers on his chest, and on reflex, he catches Anastasia’s hand, with a harder grip than what he had intended to grab with, and just glares at her. She looks at him and then at the scars on his chest, her eyes asking the question of ‘what happened?’

“It is none of your business, so just forget about it, kid.”

“Are they bullet wounds, Bryan?”

Bryan does not answer and instead just gets up, taking his shirt and putting it back on, leaving the bathroom without uttering a single word to Anastasia. She does not make anything of it, certain that it must have been a horrible event, but without a doubt, those scars are bullet wounds, and making her even more curious about what type of life Bryan had lived before she had met him.

As Anastasia cleans up the bathroom, a thought comes up, a somewhat infuriating thought, “The arrogant ass did not even thank me for cleaning up his wound. Typical,” she says with a smirk and shakes her head, also leaving the bathroom with the first aid kit in hand.

Bryan is busy in the kitchen, packing away everything, and then he wants to make a light snack for him and Anastasia before he hits the hay, and he can feel in his body that he really needs sleep, and especially after that little attack from earlier. Subconsciously, his hand gently rubs over his chest, Bryan feeling the scars through the material. He was so lost in thought that he had completely forgotten about the bullet wounds. They may be very light in complexion, hardly visible, but Anastasia was in very close proximity. He does not want her to see them, knowing that she will ask questions, and he is not ready for something like that. The memories that go along with these scars are still too painful, and it hits closer to home than Anastasia will ever realise.

Bryan hears Anastasia come walking in to the kitchen, quickly removing his hand from his chest, his demeanour back to a pissed off Bryan; he still needs to give Anastasia a proper scolding for disobeying him like that.

“Can I help with anything?”

“Where do you get off thinking that you can help me fight off four men?”

“I wanted to help; I thought that with the training.....”

“No; screw the training, kid; you are still not ready to attack an assailant, and that is why I told you to run, but like a stubborn little brat, you had to follow your own way. Do you have any idea what might have happened if that guy had directed that gun your way? You were lucky, kid, we both were, that they were just amateurs, but next time we might not be that lucky.”

“So what, is my training inadequate or what? You are my master after all.”

“Don’t play smart with me, kid. You were wrong and just accept it. And that was the last time that you were going to undermine me, do we understand each other?”

Anastasia just folds her arms in front of her chest, looking with a very pissed off expression at Bryan.

“Should I repeat myself?”

“No; and yes, I will not undermine you again. But I still think that I was not wrong.”

Anastasia tries to keep her laughter in check after hearing Bryan growl inwards, Anastasia actually liking it to work on Bryan’s nerves every now and then; she finds it very amusing. Noticing that Bryan had said all that he had wanted to say, she proceeds to make them something to drink while he works on their late dinner, and soon enough, master and student are sitting down in peace and enjoying their dinner, although it is not completely silent because Anastasia just has to tell Bryan about the clothes that she wants to buy, he just making the correct sounds and gestures where he feels it is necessary. Peace has finally been restored between the two and the events of earlier the night have been placed way at the back of their minds.

After the late dinner, Bryan helps Anastasia clean up everything. She had invited him to have a late night cap with her but he had declined, Bryan not in the mood for alcohol tonight.

The last dishes have just been placed into the dishwasher. Anastasia removes the bottle of vodka with a shot glass.

“Last call for a nightcap, Bryan,” she says to him while holding up the bottle and the glass.

“No thanks, kid; maybe next time. Enjoy.”

“Night.”

Anastasia takes her place at the table as Bryan heads out of the kitchen, but he stops in his tracks and turns around to face Anastasia, “Thanks for the wound, kid; I really appreciate it.”

Bryan just smirks when he sees the astounding look on Anastasia’s face, he just leaving with that smirk on his face as he says ‘night, kid’ to the shocked Grekov woman, but luckily the look of shock turns into a huge smile on her face, a smile she keeps while drinking her vodka.

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_Feet are crunching in the snow as she keeps running, her throat hurting, her chest feeling like it is going to seize any moment, but she can’t stop running otherwise he is going to get her. She spots a cabin ahead, the cabin only visible in the darkness due to the fire that is burning on the inside. She can hear the flapping of wings coming closer and closer. She tries to run faster, hoping that she will be able to reach the cabin before it reaches her, before HE reaches her._

_As fast as her feet can carry her, she heads for the cabin, relief washing over when she finally reaches the door knob. She can still hear the flapping of the wings, but luckily she will be safe inside. She quickly opens the door and slams it shut the moment she gets inside, heat washing over her as she leans against the door. She tries to listen for the flapping sound, but hears nothing._

_Pushing herself away from the door, she starts to walk around the small cabin, calling for the owners, but no one answers. She spots a small room at the back and makes her way to it, knocking on the door a few times, but with no answer._

_“I’m coming in, okay?”_

_She slowly opens the door, it creaking on its hinges, and after opening the door completely, a horrible sight greets her._

_There, on the floor lies three bodies, the area around them covered in blood, the three bodies belonging to her parents and her brother, their throats slit._

_“No! No, please no! Why?! No!”_

_She falls to the wooden floor, crawling to the bodies while tears are streaming down her face._

_“Why?! Why did you do this, you bastard! Papa! Vladimir! Mama!”_

_She hugs their bloody bodies, immediately being covered in their blood._

_“Aah, do you miss your daddy and mommy?” she suddenly hears, the voice mocking her._

_She looks up, seeing how the black wings folds behind his back, pitch black eyes looking at her, a sadistic smirk on his face._

_“Why, Kai?! What did they ever do to you?!”_

_“No reason, just like I have no reason in killing you right now. Then all of you Grekov scum can be together. That is what you wanted, right?”_

_She looks on at how Kai removes a long knife from behind him, the knife growing in length, it shimmering in the light of the lamp, he getting ready to swing it at her._

_“Send my regards to your family, Anastasia Grekov.”_

_“Nooooo!”_

Anastasia wakes up with a fright, her whole body feeling numb while still lying in bed. Her heart is beating at an incredible abnormal rate. She sits up straight, seeing that it is just past four in the morning.

“It was just a nightmare,” she softly says to herself.

Anastasia gets up and then heads to her study, and then switches on the computer. She makes a few clicks and then a picture appears on her screen, a picture of Kai Hiwatari.

“Your time is coming, black phoenix of Russia; get ready because death is upon you, and there will be no rising from the ashes for you.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters will from now on be very long; over at FF I divided it in parts, but here I will not, so excuse the length of some of the chapters.

Chapter 11 – Kai’s demise: let the build up begin – Year 2

_“This morning the business world had been woken up to quite a shock and a very unusual surprise when it had been announced that Hiwatari Enterprises is moving into the medical field now, and it will be designing state of the art medical equipment, and not only will they focus on the equipment, a few hospitals all over Russia will also be opened to not only help those that have any medical condition, but Hiwatari Enterprises will also make it available for any person in Russia that cannot afford the very high medical bills that usually come with medical care._

_According to a few reliable resources, Mr Hiwatari has been having various meetings with various medical scientists and medical engineers who are at the top in their fields, in order to make this a reality, and this has been in the works for about a year already. Mr Hiwatari himself will make the announcement in a couple of days’ time at a press conference and this will also give journalists the opportunity to ask him questions regarding this new adventure that the multibillion dollar company has just taken on. We will you keep posted on this story during the day._

_The running for the new president of Russia has finally.......”_

The TV is muted, a remote thrown through the air and a fist slamming hard on to the surface of the table.

“Damn you, Hiwatari! Damn you to hell!” an elder man yells, the purple haired man furious at the young business mogul.

Boris, the leader of The Checken mafia, once again has to see the success of the grandson of the man that he had hated with an intense passion most of his life. His hate towards Kai also knows no end. Once again he has to witness how Kai is becoming even more successful than ever before, and there is nothing he can do about it. No matter how many times he sends his people to try and infiltrate The Chernyy Feniks, he always fails, and no matter how many times he tries to make an attempt on Kai’s life, it always blows up in his face, but that is all about to change.

While still seething with rage and hatred, he presses the intercom on his telephone, instructing the other person on the other end of the line to send in ‘Miriam’. Boris gets up and moves towards the window, hands folded at his back, the old man just looking out at the back yard of his double storey mansion, it not nearly as impressive as any manor that Kai owns.

Boris does not wait very long until a knock is heard at the door, Boris only saying ‘come in’.

A young woman with long sleek midnight black coloured hair comes walking in, the woman appearing to be around her middle twenties, with an hour glass body, and legs that can make most professional models crazy with envy. Dressed in a black pencil skirt, deep wine red blouse, rounded off with a black pencil office jacket and black court shoes, she looks like a woman who knows what she wants.

“You called for me, sir?”

“Yes, Miriam; I know that you are still new with us but I am certain that you are aware of how I feel about young mister Kai Hiwatari.”

“What you have told me, yes, I am aware.”

“He will be your first assignment; I want you to take care of him. I know I am throwing you into deep waters here, but with your résumé, I am sure that it will be no problem for you.”

“It will not be a problem, sir; when do you want it to be done?”

“As soon as possible, Miriam; I am sure that you will not need my guidance or help with any planning.”

“You are correct, sir; consider it done. Will that be all, sir?”

“Yes. Please keep me posted.”

“Yes, sir.”

Miriam just bows her head, and then leaves the office of Boris, the elder man suddenly very calm about the whole situation, knowing very well that Miriam will easily take care of Kai. She is after all a brilliant and dangerous assassin, she being in high demand by various mob families and mafia families all over the world. He did have to pay a very hefty price for her services, but he is sure that she will be worth every cent spent. She has been with The Checken mafia for only a few days now, and Boris has been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use her, and now is that perfect opportunity.

Boris remains standing in front of the window, thinking about the victory that he is going to celebrate very soon, and this causes the elder man to suddenly start laughing like a maniac, he being very excited about the downfall of Kai that is about to come.

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“Mr Hiwatari, the shareholders are all in the boardroom,” Kai’s secretary, Vera, informs him, Kai only replying with a single nod while sitting behind his glass office desk.

He is currently busy with the last finishing touches to his speech that he will have to make at the launch of the party which will be in about two weeks’ time. Luckily for him, everyone knows that he is a man of few words so the speech is not very long. Usually CEO’s have people draw up their speeches for them but Kai would much rather avoid it, afraid that whoever will draw up his speech may think it will be funny and make the thing unnecessary long, and he would really much rather avoid that scenario.

The shareholders are meeting up to discuss the progress of their plans, and also what to reveal to the public and what not, and yes, Kai had wanted shareholders in this new venture, although he is the main shareholder, having 51% of the shares. They are in total six shareholders, including Kai, and the shares have been divided like this: 51%; 17%; 15%; 7%; 6% and 4%, this according to how many have bought into this new business side of Hiwatari Enterprises.

Seeing as the building of a few hospitals of the new hospitals have already begun, the deadline of all the necessary facilities – the factories, and hospitals, will have to be completed in two years’ time, because that is when Kai wants to open the doors to this department.

Kai has finally finished his speech, and is currently contemplating with himself on whether he should first smoke or rather go to the meeting first, Kai finally deciding on the latter, not wanting to keep the shareholders waiting any longer, because he himself hates to be kept waiting at a meeting.

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A very exhausted and out of breath Anastasia is leaning against a wall in order to catch her breath. Both she and Bryan have been up since five AM, working on her offensive tactics and it sure is very exhausting for the blonde haired Grekov.

“Sweet banana split, who the hell had decided that the offensive tactics should be this hard? This shit is nothing compared to those defensive things; it is like a thousand times worse!”

“Stop moaning, kid; offensive is harder because it is much more deadly than your defence. With defence you have to protect yourself because that is the main goal; with the offence you have to hurt your opponent or assailant, hurting them in any way possible way, and your body has to act as the main weapon.”

“Blah blah blah; just kick them in the balls, and then it is all over.”

Bryan just shakes his head, still finding it shocking sometimes at how this young woman can be so blunt sometimes, but that is what draws him to her, that careless attitude of her.

“And what if it is a woman, kid? The last time I checked, women do not have balls, unless I have been sleeping for hundreds of thousands of years and the women have suddenly evolved into ball bearing females.”

Anastasia just smirks at that, Bryan not really known for his dry humour.

“No, master, sir, women do not have balls, so sorry. And besides, if my attacker happens to be a woman, it is just as painful to be hit on your tits....”

“Breasts, kid,” Bryan interrupts Anastasia on her language, she just pretending not to hear him correct her.

“TITS as it are to be kicked in the balls.”

“Doubtful, but enough chit chat, kid; this day is still very long and I would like to go to bed early.”

“Yes, master,” Anastasia says while playfully bowing her head before getting back into a stance on the mats, ready to attack Bryan.

Not one of them has watched the news on Kai today as they do not have the time to sit in front of the TV. Anastasia will most likely seethe with anger, accusing him of being a hypocrite because he is a killer and now he wants to pretend so save sick people. She will really see it as a sick joke from the business mogul, but it will also encourage her to train even harder in getting perfect for joining the mob.

There is still no definite plan on when or how Anastasia will join the mob, but Bryan is not worried about that right now. He may have a way but only time will tell when Anastasia will be ready to embrace the dark world of organised crime, and that is still some time away because there is still a lot of things that Anastasia has to master before she can even think of taking on that dangerous world.

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With a glass of red wine in one hand, the other hand scrolling around on her laptop, Miriam is currently enjoying herself by looking at pictures of her latest target, Kai Hiwatari. She is just sitting in a large washed up shirt, enjoying the peace and quiet of her latest purchase, a fancy two bedroom apartment within the heart of Moscow. Her TV is playing in the back ground, but she has turned off the sound. Boris had invited her to stay at his mansion but there is no way she would ever live under the same roof as her current employer; she has never done it in the past, and she is not going to start doing it now. She likes her privacy way too much.

She had been employed by so many different mobsters, she had lost count, and they have been very generous to her when it comes to paying her; well, they had to be otherwise she would have killed them instead of their enemies that she had to take care of for them. Before Boris, she had been working for a cartel in Colombia, and although she did like the warm weather, she felt that it was time for a change of scenery, and seeing as she has never worked in her native country, she had thought that it would be a good place to be right now, although she is not a fan of the cold right now.

‘Thank God for indoor heating,’ is her only thought on the cold.

Miriam is the name that the black haired woman is currently going by because she changes her name every time she starts working for someone knew, and she has changed it so much that she has forgotten how it sounds to be called by her real name, Sasha. She is certain should someone call her by that name right now, she will not even respond because she will simply not recognise it. She is commonly known as ‘Phantom’ because after she has completed her work with one employer, she disappears like a ghost, but when she is in the service of someone, she has a proper name.

Miriam, the name she goes by now, has been doing this type of work since she can remember, and she had been trained by her father, whom was a retired military officer, a very strict and obedient man. It had always been just her and her father, because her mother had unfortunately passed away from terminal cancer when she was just two years old, and seeing as she was the first born, there was no time for her parents to plan for a sibling for her.

She and her father had lived in a cabin on the outskirts of Skolby, almost next to the Lena River and it had been here where her father had taught her all there is to know on how to survive in the harsh world, and her father did not mean the wild. Her father had taught her all there is to know about guns, knives, and poison, anything that can be used as a weapon to hurt another. She was only 11 years old when she had killed her first animal by only using a knife. Unfortunately, when Miriam was only 16 years old, her father had also passed away, also due to cancer, and from that age on she had to fight for her survival.

Luckily for her, her father had left her enough money, but thanks to her upbringing, she knew that she had to work for her money. So, she travelled to Italy where she ended up in Sicily, and that is where she got her first job in a mafia family, and as the saying goes, ‘the rest is history’.

Miriam has worked very hard to earn the respect she has now, and she is grateful for her upbringing by her dad because she has skills that not a lot of women have. She is 31 years old, but she looks much younger than she actually is, many mistaking her for someone who is about 23 or 24, Miriam always finding it very amusing; she also does not correct them, feeling that her real age is not anyone’s business.

She is currently reading a few news articles about Kai that has been placed on the internet today, this so-called new adventure the young business man is taking on. She has heard a lot about Kai, but has never seen the point in trying to contact him. Most of her previous employers have a lot of respect for Kai, all except one, and that is not a previous employer, but rather a current employer.

Miriam has no problem in killing Hiwatari; it will actually be an achievement seeing as how dangerous he is, if she can believe all of the stories that she has heard of him, and if some of the other rumours are also true, she intends on having a little pleasure before killing him, seeing as there are so many rumours about Kai being crazy about sex. She might as well get something more out of the deal, even if it is just one session of heavy sex. She will not mind at all, seeing as the guy is gorgeous if his pictures on the internet are anything to go by.

Miriam downs her wine and then gets up to refill her glass once more. She may be Russian but she has learned to enjoy the finer things in life, a good wine being one of those finer things. After refilling her glass, she takes her place once more before her laptop. She does not have any definite plan on how she is going to kill Hiwatari, hence why she is browsing the internet, hoping to find something. The only real useful thing that she can see now is that there will be a press conference in a few days’ time, and then a launch, or a party, or whatever, where all the doctors, engineers, shareholders, and anyone well known within the business world and medical world will be invited to.

‘That launch seems like the perfect place to take care of him. Now if only I can find out where and when it will be held, I can start planning this thing properly. The last thing I want is the old man breathing down my neck; I might just end up killing him, instead of Hiwatari. That will definitely be a first for me, but this is also a first time for me that an employer is this irritating. Stupid old man,’ she thinks to herself.

Miriam continues to spend another hour in front her laptop, before calling it a night and then heading for her bed, the wine causing her to fall asleep peacefully and sleeping like someone who had just taken strong sleeping pills.

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The evening breeze is slightly ruffling his hair, the freezing and icy breeze not bothering him in the slightest while he blows out smoke through his nostrils before taking another drag from his almost finished cigarette.

Kai is currently standing out in the blistering cold on the balcony of the presidential suite at a five star hotel in Moscow where the official launch of Hiwatari Medical Care is going to take place later on in the night. Kai had booked the suite for him, Tala and Alisia so that they can get ready for the launch; he has brought his two cats, Tiger and Iris, along with him, along with their various toys and their luxury beds. His cats also have a way of keeping him calm, which he needs for tonight.

There is still about two hours left before he has to be downstairs, so he is just going to take his time in getting ready for the launch, and he is really not looking forward to it. If he had a choice, he would have avoided the entire fiasco, but unfortunately he is just out of luck, especially because he is the main guest at the launch.

Alisia is currently enjoying the built in hot tub, and Tala is just relaxing in front of the TV with just his boxers on, the two cats keeping him company on the couch. Neither of the cats wants to sit outside in the cold, even if their human is outside. Tala and Alisia are also not in the mood for the launch but because they are best friends with Kai, he kind of manipulated the married couple into joining him tonight.

Kai continues smoking his cigarette when he hears the distinct sound of a bike racing down the street, he already feeling his heart race by just hearing that beautiful sound. He looks down and sees the bike approach, although he cannot see the colour of the bike clearly.

‘Now I want to race,’ he thinks to himself, and just continues to watch the bike race past the hotel, the only thing Kai seeing is the blonde hair of the driver flowing in the wind, so clearly it is a woman who is on the bike.

‘A very bad girl I hope,’ Kai thinks once more, this time with a smirk on his face.

Kai takes one last drag from the cigarette before chucking the bud over the balcony and then going inside to join Tala and his cats on the couch in front of TV.

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Feeling the cold wind flow though her hair is what Anastasia needs right now, the wind and the freedom on the bike. She and Bryan had a little disagreement earlier, nothing big, but she just wanted to get out, so right after Bryan got in his truck and stormed off, she did the same, heading straight for her penthouse to collect her bike, and now she is as calm as they come, all thanks to the metal horse she is on right now. She has no destination in mind; she is just going where the bike is leading her.

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Miriam is sitting in front of her mirror, adding the last finishing touches to her make-up. Her hair is already done and she is dressed in a bright red strapless dress, the whole dress clinging perfectly to her body, accentuating each godly curve of her body, the beautiful dress sporting a long slip all along her right leg, it almost going up until her crotch area. Miriam has lots of sex appeal and she knows how to use it to her advantage, and tonight she is going to use it on Kai Hiwatari. She has already managed to get herself an invite to the launch, under the pretence of a doctor that is interested in working for Hiwatari.

With her beautiful and silk soft midnight black hair done up in a style, her make-up being flawless and her dress enough to make both men and women envious, she is 200% certain that Kai will find it very difficult in resisting her. If all goes to plan, Kai will be dead by the end of the night, not even being able to bid his guests a farewell.

She is going to use the weapon that is famously used by women who wants to get rid of someone: poison. A very sensitive and volatile poison, but luckily it has an antidote, and lucky only for her, because the antidote is meant for her. Because the poison is so dangerous, just a drop on the skin can kill a grown person, and seeing as she will have to use her bare hands when she has to administer the poison, she stands a good chance of getting it on herself, hence why she has the antidote with her, which she is going to keep very safe within her little black evening purse. 

After being satisfied with her make-up, Miriam winks at herself in the mirror, and then gets up to pick up her telephone. She dials a number, and after three rings, the other person picks up, _“Good evening, Ms Miriam. I believe you have some news for me seeing as I have not seen you in quite a while.”_

“Evening, sir. I am happy to report that after tonight, your nemesis will be no more. I will be taking care of Mr Hiwatari later tonight, and it might be in the news papers and on the news early tomorrow morning.”

_“Excellent, my dear; I am very pleased in hearing that. Well then, keep me posted.”_

“Yes, sir. Have a pleasant evening,” Miriam says in a friendly tone, but Boris does not bid her farewell and just hangs up, Miriam just clicking her tongue at the old man’s rudeness.

“Ass; you, I will kill for free, and with a smile,” she says to herself. Chucking the phone onto the bed, and checking her attire one last time in the mirror, she once again winks to herself in the mirror and grins, and after gathering her purse, heads out of her apartment to be on her way to the launch.

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Most of the guests have already arrived and Kai has already mingled with a few of them, but overall he just wants to avoid the whole ‘meet and mingle’ scenario, and would much rather do something else.

‘Why did I even bother with this move? I really did not think this through,’ he thinks to himself while holding a drink in his hand, although it is just a glass of white wine.

Alisia has threatened him not to drink any hard liquor tonight seeing as how he does a complete 180 whenever he gets hard alcohol into his system, and unfortunately, Kai cannot disagree with Alisia on that one, because he knows he becomes a complete prick when consuming anything strong, especially vodka, which is his favourite drink of all time. Strangely enough, the only time he does not become a complete ass when drinking vodka is when he is alone at home, but that may also be thanks to his two cats, maybe they keep him calm at that time, but that is probably the only time he can control his ‘awful other side’.

The huge extravagant room is filled with guests, all dressed formally, the women in their most expensive nightgowns and the men in their tailor made tuxedoes; the various smells of perfumes and colognes are filling everyone’s noses, tingling it all over, along with the various smells coming from the platters that are being carried around by the waiters and being offered to the guests.

The room is filled with a warm and comfortable air, the air conditioners being at the perfect temperature. Various displays have been put up about what the vision is for this new company, how the various hospitals will look like, and what Hiwatari Enterprises aims to achieve with this new medical company. Many of the guests are mostly from the medical world, all of them being interested in hearing about how a weapon’s manufacturing company wants to approach the medical world; others are interested in seeing whether they can be a part of this new venture from Hiwatari Enterprises.

Kai is looking around, seeing the various people, all having a good time, and he also spots Tala laughing with two men, along with Ray who is also at this party. Kai just feels calm whenever there is at least one person that he trusts and knows very well, and luckily Tala, Alisia and Ray are at this party tonight, which already makes him feel much better.

Just then, a beautiful silver haired woman comes walking into the room, she carrying herself with a certain air of confidence, and also with a tint of sex appeal. The silver haired woman with the deep dark blue eyes is dressed in a beautiful navy blue dress, it fitting comfortably on her body, showing off all of her curves, the chest area of the dress having silver gems embroidery on it in a very classy design, both the dress and the sequences complementing her hair and her eyes. Kai just has to smile at how stunning Valerie is looking tonight, and he can already see himself taking off that dress.

The two have not hooked up yet seeing as Valerie had only landed a couple of hours ago, and Kai can hardly wait to have her in bed, especially after seeing her in that dress. Kai quickly notices that Valerie is not alone, and that a black haired woman is by her side, the black haired woman dressed in a mint coloured dress, with a one shoulder sleeve, whereas Valerie’s dress is sleeveless.

Valerie is very curious about this new venture of Kai, and seeing as she will be a qualified doctor in about a year’s time, she already wants to explore her options, but that might prove a bit difficult seeing as she has other responsibilities to take care of.

Valerie spots Kai through the crowd and with a seductive grin on her face, whispers something to her companion, and then starts to make her way towards Kai, the young man feeling a pulsing sensation develop in his crotch area.

Valerie finally reaches Kai, and he places a soft kiss on her cheek as the two lovers softly embrace each other.

“You look absolutely gorgeous, Val,” Kai whispers into Valerie’s ear, the woman enjoying the feel of his heated breath on her skin.

Valerie also just gives an amused chuckle while staying in close proximity to Kai, “I know, that is one of the perks of being me; I can even make a trash bag look gorgeous when I have it on, but you also don’t look to bad. I mean, it is not every day that you wear a tuxedo.”

“Hn.”

Valerie turns around to face the crowd, and in the process makes sure that her ass is pressed up against Kai’s crotch area, she already feeling his semi-erect member. Just feeling Kai breathing into her neck is making her want to take him right there and then, but she wants their last time to be a memorable one, and that is not going to happen while being at this party, and yes, she has made up her mind about her and Kai ending their ‘sex buddy’ relationship, but that bad news will be delivered to Kai all in due time.

While looking around and seeing that everyone is conversing with someone else or is preoccupied with their own thing, Valerie moves her right hand behind her back, very discreetly, and starts to stroke Kai’s almost fully erect member, this action causing the young Hiwatari to make a groaning noise, pushing his pelvic area harder against Valerie’s ass.

“I hope you did not pay a lot for that dress because I intend to rip it from your body when I take you later tonight,” Kai whispers huskily into Valerie’s ear, causing the silver haired woman to become very aroused, but she knows that now is not the time.

With a soft chuckle, she releases her hold on Kai’s now fully erect member, and turns around, her blue eyes shining with mischief.

She reaches for his right ear and nibbles on his ear lobe, before whispering in a very seductive and playful tone, “Easy, lover boy; not tonight, but tomorrow night I am going to be the one that will rock your world,” and with a final peck on his cheek, Valerie pulls away and gives Kai a last wink before disappearing into the crowd, meeting up with her companion once more.

Kai just smirks at Valerie’s retreating figure, but quickly realises that he has to hide his crotch before anyone notices the huge bulge within his trousers. That will be way too humiliating for him, and he would much rather die than get caught up in such a situation. After making sure that no one is looking in his direction, Kai folds his hands in front of the bulge and heads for the nearest bathroom, and he intends to stay there until his hormones have calmed down and he is composed once more.

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A luxurious shiny and black limo stops in front of the hotel, the driver getting out and opening a door, where a long tanned and toned leg is the first thing to appear out of the door, followed by a gorgeous woman dressed in an eye catching red dress, her long midnight black coloured hair being done up in a modern style, a smirk adjourning her facial features.

“Thank you, Greg; go and enjoy the night. I will find my own way home later tonight.”

“As you wish, miss, and may I just compliment you on how breathtakingly beautiful you look tonight. I hope the man that catches your attention tonight will constantly compliment you on that.”

Miriam just chuckles at the kind limo driver, “Oh, he will do much more than that, and thank you for the compliment, my dear Greg, but I must be off. Sleep tight and don’t do what I wouldn’t do.”

The driver just smiles and bows for Miriam before watching her walk eloquently towards the hotel, the black haired beauty disappearing through the doors. With one last look at the hotel, the driver makes his way back to the driver’s seat and then drives off, his thoughts on what a lovely lady Miriam is, the poor man having no idea what type of killer he had allowed in as his passenger.

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Kai has finally managed to compose himself, and although it had taken a lot of unsettling thoughts, he has finally succeeded, and he is once again in the company of various guests and business men and women. Valerie and her companion is nowhere to be seen but that is not bothering Kai at all. He actually prefers not seeing Valerie right now, for the sake of his hormones. After finishing up his current conversation with two plastic surgeons, Kai makes his way to a quiet corner in the room, he just watching over the crowd, while having a glass of juice in his hand this time. 

While continuing to look around the crowd, Kai suddenly spots a female, a very attractive one, who is easy to spot with her beautiful red evening gown, and how he did not spot her earlier will remain a complete mystery to him. Her hair is done up and just then, she turns around, Kai getting a good look of her bare back, he liking what he is seeing, and before he knows it, a smirk appears on his mouth. It is clear that she is looking for someone as she is constantly looking around, Kai keeping his eyes on the black haired beauty.

Miriam had no problem getting into the party, and right now she is searching for Kai. So far she has not spotted him and it is kind of pissing her off. Just then she gets the sudden feeling that someone is watching her, and turning around, she looks directly into Kai’s eyes, the business man standing across the room, a sadistic smirk on his face. For a split second, it feels as if her heart had just skipped a beat. She knows that Kai is a very good looking man, but seeing him in person is just not what she had expected.

‘The pictures really does him no justice; the guy is just absolutely gorgeous,’ she thinks to herself, while smiling at him while slightly raising her drink in his direction to acknowledge him, he doing exactly the same.

‘Now that I have your attention, Mr Hiwatari, let the games begin,’ she thinks, and with that thought Miriam walks away, disappearing into the crowd.

Kai watches her disappear into the crowd, his mind already thinking of ways on how he wants to get her onto her back.

“I saw you checking that black haired chick out,” Kai suddenly hears next to him, his thoughts temporarily interrupted by the slight interruption.

“So what if I did? What is it to you?”

“Man, who has got your balls in such a tight grip?”

Kai just rolls his eyes at Alisia, “Don’t you have a husband to go and annoy?”

“Nah; I got bored of Tala, and then when I looked your way and spotted you with that evil smirk of yours, I just knew that I had to come and investigate; that sinister smirk of yours does not just appear for no apparent reason, you know. You honestly have no shame, do you?”

Kai finally acknowledges his childhood friend with a scowl on his face, “What do you mean by that, Alisia?”

“You can’t get your balls wet at your own party, Kai, and it is also obvious that she has to be a doctor or something, so I don’t think she will be dumb enough to fall for your sweet talk, and besides, you have to be well mannered tonight because you do not want to ruin your perfect image that the world has of you, so no screwing the doctors, Kai.”

“Who said anything of screwing? If she is a doctor, I will have to talk to her; she may just be interested in joining the Hiwatari family.”

At that Alisia just snorts.

“You are not a pig, so stop snorting,” Kai says with a smirk while looking at Alisia, she just pouting at his crude remark.

“You really are an ass; did you have any hard alcohol tonight?”

“No.”

“Oh, okay, so you are just an ass by nature tonight.”

“Hn.”

“Leave that woman alone, Kai. Go find someone else to nail, someone who is not thinking of doing business with you.”

“I have a speech to prepare for, so I am out of here,” is all Kai says to Alisia, and before even giving her a chance to reply, he just turns around and walks away, leaving his blonde haired friend to stand all alone on her own, but she just finds the entire scenario funny, hence the wide grin on her face. Alisia watches at how Kai walks away, and then goes back to join Tala and Ray in whatever conversation they are currently involved in at the moment.

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Kai had just finished making his speech, and he is really thankful that _that_ ordeal is over with because he has been dreading it the entire night through already. Now he can finally just relax and see whether he can strike up a conversation with the black haired beauty.

When he was busy making his speech, he was all too aware of her presence, and he constantly looked at her, she just smirking at him the entire time while keeping her eyes fixed on him with a certain gleam in them. That alone already says that she is interested in him, he knowing that certain look on a woman’s face from experience by now.

Kai is standing near a window, just overlooking the crowd in front of him.

“Good evening, Mr Hiwatari,” Kai hears next to him, a voice sounding very sultry and sensual. He turns around to address the speaker and looks directly into emerald green eyes, those beautiful coloured eyes belonging to the beauty that has been occupying his mind for some time now.

Miriam can feel how her heart is racing because of her close proximity to her target, those brown coloured eyes looking at her with such intensity, she almost feeling naked by just his mere gaze. She can smell his cologne, it just adding to the guy’s already explosive and masculine sex appeal. Kai turns around to completely face her, Miriam trying her best to keep her composure while her body is going incoherently nuts.

With an outstretched hand, Miriam introduces herself, “Miriam Ola,” she says in a tone as seductive as she can.

Kai takes her hand, and slightly bows down to kiss the top of her hand, electrifying tingles coursing through Miriam’s entire body. Kai feeling the softness of her skin on his lips, immediately sends his mind, and hormones, into overdrive.

“Pleased to meet you, Mrs Ola.”

“Just Miss.”

“Very well, Ms Ola,” Kai replies with his trademark smirk.

He finally releases her hand, Miriam becoming self conscious of how warm his hand had just felt, wondering on whether the rest of his body is also that warm to the touch.

“I hope I am not bothering you, but I would really like to have a few minutes of your time, Mr Hiwatari, to talk about this new HMC as you had called it.”

“I am listening,” is all Kai says, his deep masculine voice making Miriam’s heart beat even faster, she also not missing the tone of authority within Kai’s voice. His voice is strong and deep, and yet she feels very comfortable with it.

“May we talk somewhere more private, if you don’t mind?”

Kai just nods his head once, he indicating with his head for her to follow him. Kai pays no heed to anyone as he starts to make his way out of the room, Miriam right behind him.

Two pairs of blue eyes are following the pair, Kai having no idea that both Tala and Alisia are watching their friend leave with a female companion by his side.

“I told that idiot to leave her alone; why can’t he just for once in his life listen to someone else. Why must he constantly act like a stubborn little brat?”

“That’s Kai, my love, and you know that, but why should he leave her alone? Do you know her or what?”

“No, I don’t know her, but I just don’t trust her, that’s all; something just feels very off about that woman. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I know I am not wrong about it.”

“Kai is a big boy, crazy loops, and he is more than capable of taking care of himself,” Tala says while placing his arms around Alisia’s body and pulling her closer to him.

Alisia just sighs and leans into Tala’s touch, the warmth of his body just relaxing both her mind and body, “I know, I know, but usually when I get that certain type of feeling about someone, I am not wrong.”

“Just relax; before you know it, Kai will be finished with his dirty deeds and both he and that woman will be walking around here with huge smiles on both of their faces. Just let them go and do their business, alright? Hey, maybe we can also go and do something,” Tala says in a very sly tone, Alisia already knowing what her husband has in mind.

She pulls away from her husband and looks him in the eye, his eyes shining with mischief and horniness. She just takes him by the hand and then pulls him after her, “Come on, you horn dog,” is all she says, to which Tala replies with a mocking bark, causing the blonde haired woman to just laugh at her husband while pulling him to the closest ladies’ bathroom.

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Kai and Miriam have just arrived at the presidential suite, Kai waiting at the door while he allows Miriam to enter the suite first. The ride in the elevator was quiet, but still comfortable. Neither of the two had conversed within the elevator, Kai being in his usual pose, arms crossed in front of his chest, eyes closed; Miriam just stood in a model pose, her heart racing with excitement as the elevator got closer to the floor.

She silently gasps the moment she enters the suite when she sees the beauty of the suite. She had seen some beautiful places in the past, but none as quite as beautiful as this suite, or as big as this. Kai silently watches the black haired beauty while removing his jacket and loosening his bowtie, he finding it very amusing at how she is looking in awe at the place, and this is just the living room and dining area of the suite; there is still the rest of the suite.

Kai had placed his cats in his room and had closed the door, the two cats having more than enough entertainment in there, along with enough water and food. He really wants to go and look on them quickly but his hormones are preventing him from doing so right now.

Kai slowly paces behind the black haired beauty as she makes her way towards one of the couches, the three seated couch, she proceeding to make herself comfortable. She places her black evening purse on the glass coffee table, and then takes a seat in the middle of the couch, crossing her legs over each other in a seductive manner, making sure that both of her legs are in full view for Kai, and then places her arms on the headrest of the couch in an outstretched manner, Kai noticing how toned, yet feminine, her arms are.

Kai did not miss the gesture in which Miriam had made herself comfortable in, his eyes travelling up her legs, straight to where her dress starts to cover up again, which is just below her crotch area. Kai does not take a seat but instead remains standing a few feet away from Miriam, he just admiring her body.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Just water, please.”

With just a nod, Kai walks towards the small bar that is situated in the corner of the living room, and gets a bottle of fresh water from the small refrigerator, and then proceeds to pour himself a glass of vodka. He has no intention of going back down stairs so he can treat himself with a glass of excellent vodka.

Kai takes the drinks back to the living area, and after giving Miriam her glass of water, he takes a seat across from her, the two keeping eye contact with each other. Both take a sip from their beverages, and about a minute passes before Kai finally breaks the somewhat comfortable silence, “What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

Miriam says nothing at first and just grins at Kai, Kai noticing how the look in her eye has changed, she suddenly looking very different from how she had looked down stairs, the new look in her eye slightly reminding him of how a predator looks like just as it is about to make a successful kill, and that look alone excites him very much right now.

“Come now, Mr Hiwatari....”

“Just Kai,” he interrupts her.

“Very well, Kai; we both know that _that_ was just an excuse to get you alone; talking is the very last thing that I want to do right now,” she says in a seductive tone, her voice dripping with lust, she uncrossing her legs, and then crossing them once more, but this time just switching the positions of the legs, and while doing this, she makes sure that Kai gets a glimpse of her red satin thong, and it is clear that he did see it because Miriam notices how Kai’s smirk broadens and his facial features are changing, his eyes indicating a sudden hunger within them.

Kai places his drink on top of the table and gets up, slowly walking over to Miriam, their eyes locked on one another. Kai comes to a standstill right in front of Miriam, he looking down at her, and she looking up at him. Kai leans down towards her, placing his arms on the headrest, on either side of her head, his face only a few inches away from Miriam’s face, he smelling her intoxicating perfume.

Miriam can hear her own heart beat in her ears, the organ pulsing with excitement, she silently hoping that Kai does not hear, or even see, how ridiculously her heart is beating right now. He being so close to her right now, is doing unspeakable things to her mind and body, she feeling the heat being radiated off from his body.

Kai leans even closer to Miriam, his lips almost touching hers, he wanting to taste them so bad right now.

“What do you want to do instead if it is not talking?” he whispers against her lips in a husked manner, this action causing Miriam to start breathing faster as her heart beat increases even more, almost to the point of it making her feel uncomfortable within her chest.

‘Calm down, woman, or you will give yourself a little heart attack before you even get down to business. It is such a shame that he has to die tonight; I would not have minded keeping him locked up somewhere, making him my own personal sex slave. It really is such a sad loss,’ Miriam thinks to herself as she continues to feel Kai’s heated breath on her lips, her hands gripping the headrest with an incredible grip, her knuckles almost turning white.

Trying her best not to show that she is busy losing control, she too whispers against his lips in a huskily voice, “You are a smart man, Kai. What do you think usually happens when a man and woman is alone, and the sexual chemistry is filling the entire room.”

Kai just cannot wait anymore and immediately closes the gap between them, taking Miriam’s lips, tasting them, savouring them, he quickly deepening the kiss as he leans more into the kiss, this resulting in Miriam’s head being pushed back until it is completely resting on the headrest of the couch.

Miriam’s mind goes blank the moment Kai kisses her, her lust filled body completely taking over all logic, her mind leaving her body to act without any thinking being involved. Her hands move to Kai’s hips, her hands clutching his shirt as the kiss is deepened with so much intensity, so much desire and so much hunger. He is a very good kisser and his lips are surprisingly very soft, well, what else can one expect from such kissable full lips on a guy? Kai expertly moves his lips against hers, it being demanding and yet at the same time, also gentle. It is not sloppy, not too wet and Kai’s lips are feeling so good against her own right now. Miriam can’t remember the last time she had felt such a pair of soft lips, and neither can she remember the last time she had been kissed in such a sultry manner. 

It does not take long for Kai to get on top of her, straddling her lap as he cups her face in his hands, their tongues exploring each other’s caverns, soft moans and groans escaping from both occupants, as the sexual attraction between the two of them grows stronger and stronger with each passing second. As Kai straddles her lap, Miriam can feel his erection press up against her, and she can hardly wait to ride that large bulge. She can already feel how her clit is pulsing with arousal and anticipation, the definite wetness being felt between her thighs, along with a pressure that is anxiously waiting for them to go all the way.

Kai breaks the intense kissing after some time and gets up, he taking Miriam by her hands and pulls her up, she not protesting at all. He once again reclaims her lips without giving her a chance to think of anything else, but this time his hands start to roam her body, he quickly finding the zipper of her dress that is situated at the left side of her body, and slowly starts to pull it down. Miriam follows suit by unbuttoning his shirt, the two proceeding to undress each other as fast, yet as sensual, as they can. The zipper comes undone and the dress flawlessly drops to the floor, leaving Miriam only in her high heels and red satin thong. She does not have a bra on, and Kai is very happy about that.

Miriam quickly unbuttons the last few buttons of Kai’s shirt, he kicking off his shoes in the process, and then she proceeds with the same speed to his trousers, the trousers of Kai also just dropping to the floor, leaving them both to just stand in their underwear. The kissing intensifies when Kai pulls Miriam’s body against his own, he feeling her naked breasts and her naked skin press up against his own. She in turn takes in his toned body, feeling his muscles flex under her touch with every movement his almost godly body makes, his natural warmth just adding to her ever building arousal and excitement.

With one swift moment, Kai picks her up and then in a playful manner, throws her onto the couch, the kissing only stopping for that brief moment, Miriam just chuckling at the playfulness, but the chuckling does not last long before Kai gets on top of her and starts kissing her once more, and now it is getting even more heated between the two of them because now they are almost completely naked, they only having on their underwear. Miriam wraps her legs around Kai’s waist as he balances himself with his arms that are placed on either side of Miriam’s head, his erection pushing against her entrance. With her arms wrapped tightly around Kai’s neck and her lips already feeling bruised by all of the intense kissing, Miriam is more than ready for Kai to take her, and to have her begging for more and more. She has no doubt in her mind that this mob boss knows a thing or two about pleasing a woman in bed.

The hunger filled kissing continues while Kai removes one of his hands from beside Miriam’s head to start removing her thong, she releasing her legs from around his body so that Kai can remove the piece of material completely, he tossing the red piece of cloth onto the floor, and then proceeds to insert two fingers of his into her cavern, Miriam moaning into his mouth whilst lifting her hips into his touch. He starts to stimulate her, his fingers moving in and out of her at a rather fast pace, that ‘squishing’ sound becoming more and more distinct as Miriam’s arousal and wetness increases.

Miriam’s mind is being clouded with lust, feeling how his fingers are moving in and out of her, her juices flowing out of her like a tap that has been opened on the inside of her, she thinking that if his fingers are this pleasing, how will the real thing feel then? She decides to also remove his boxers as she too wants to play with him, so that he can also feel just what he is putting her through, and without any struggle, she removes Kai’s black boxers, taking his very hard and very erect member into her left hand, and also starts to stroke it up and down, Kai kissing her harder and deeper while grunting into her mouth. Kai presses his lips harder against Miriam’s lips, he doing it so hard that her head is pushed deeper into the couch.

The two continue to play with each other until Kai pulls away, exclaiming ‘enough of this playing shit’, and then reaches for his trousers, removing a foil packet out of one of the pockets of his trousers.

Miriam watches as he tears open the foil packet with his teeth, removing the lubricated condom and how he expertly places it onto his large erection, this being the first time she sees just how well endowed Kai’s really is, the size adding more to her already exploding excitement.

After ensuring that the condom is on properly, Kai takes up his previous position and reclaims Miriam’s lips once more, but as the two continue with their kissing, he takes her left leg and places it on his shoulder, he not caring whether Miriam is flexible or not, and then without any warning, he slams into her with one swift movement, she immediately moaning into his mouth while arching her body up against his and grabbing his ass cheeks with both of her hands in a firm grip as the thrusting of Kai starts.

Kai starts thrusting into Miriam as hard and fast as he can, he enjoying the feel of her inner walls clinging around his penis, and how she clenches and unclenches every time he thrusts into her and then pulls out, the moans of her just adding to the pleasure.

Kai once again breaks the kissing but then he moves his kisses to her neck, Miriam pressing her head even more deeper into the couch, exposing her neck area more for Kai, his kisses in her neck being just as toxic as they had been on her lips, her mind being focused solely on Kai’s movements within her, she feeling how he pulls out and thrusts back into her with a force, she welcoming that force, knowing that _that_ is what she has been wanting for some time; she wants the sex to be rough, hard and no hint of subtleness to any of it.

A good few minutes, at least 10 or so, have already passed of this rough sex, and Miriam’s breathing is starting to become ragged, and she can feel how her throat is developing that cold feeling on the inside, the one which a person develops when they had ran a long distance and their bodies are very unfit for that distance, and there is no sign of Kai stopping anytime soon, and she prefers it that way. The guy sure knows what he is doing, despite it being anything but gentle or considerate, this is most definitely animal sex that they are having, and in all honesty it is what she much rather prefers.

Who is in need of that slow sensual love making anyway? In her eyes it is overrated, and it should be done when the partners are in love, and she most certainly will not fall in love anytime soon because life is much too fun for her at the moment to go and spoil it with some unnecessary emotions.

Kai stops the kissing in her neck and proceeds to sit on his knees, his thrusting stopping for that brief moment although he remains within her. Miriam releases her grip on his ass as Kai proceeds to remove Miriam’s left leg from his shoulder and places it on the inside of his right arm, he bending her right leg at the knee and pushing it up and towards her chest, Kai opening her legs wider for him. Kai looks down at Miriam and sees her lips parted as she is taking in deep breaths, he commencing with his thrusting once more, with even more force, this causing Miriam to arch her whole upper body, pressing her head even more into the couch while moaning out even more, Kai enjoying the sight in front of him.

With Miriam’s left leg resting on his right forearm, and her right leg pressed against her torso, Kai is able to penetrate her to the maximum, just how he likes it. He continues to look down at her and watches her breasts bounce with every thrust, her juices flowing like a fountain from her, Kai not missing the sound their bodies are making as he constantly thrusts into her. He can clearly hear the skin on skin impact, the noises her wet cavern is making as he moves in and out, and more importantly, the moaning that constantly escapes from Miriam, all these sounds just adding to the sex that Kai is currently enjoying with this black haired beauty which he had quickly gotten on her back. 

Miriam can’t manage to open up her eyes, she being blinded by this crazy driven sex, Kai’s new position resulting in him going even deeper into her, it almost being at the point of becoming painful, but he is constantly hitting her g-spot and she can feel how her body is preparing for the oncoming climax, and it will happen anytime soon, she already feeling like she wants to give that orgasmic scream.

“Yes.....give it to me.....ahhh....I’m going to come, Kai.....I.....” she manages to say before her words turn into the scream that she has been wanting to do for a while now as the incredible climax finally starts its mind blowing assault on her entire body, Miriam feeling like she has just left earth and is now floating through the air on a wave of pure euphoria, she not wanting this feeling to pass because it is such an out-of-this-world experience and a very addictive high, from which she just does not want to come down. With one final almost yelping soft scream, her crisis passes, her juices flowing even more; Kai seizes his thrusting the moment her climax passes, but still remains within her.

Miriam’s hair has come undone in the process, and now Kai can see just how long her hair really is, it waking up a new side to him. He removes himself from Miriam, not caring that she is heaving for air because he has not had his fill yet and he is not going to pass on it anytime soon. Kai releases his hold on her legs and then places his hands on her hips, turning, or actually more like flipping, her around so that she is now lying on her stomach.

Miriam is still coming down from her high and hardly notices that she had been flipped over, until she feels Kai thrust into her once more but this time he has a tight hold on her hair, Kai slightly lifting her head up and breathing into her neck as his hunger filled riding of her continues. Kai is not one to talk during sex, he makes the occasional grunting sound every now and then, but he does not see himself saying things like, ‘you like it baby’, or ‘say my name,’ because in his own personal opinion it is all for show. If a woman is really enjoying it, she can just moan and that is all that he wants to hear. That is something he has learned over the years, he may have talked during sex when he was much younger, but now he sees it as nothing but an annoying thing, and a complete waste of time.

Taking a woman from behind is what Kai likes the most because then he can go in deep as possible and he can control the pace to his own liking because there are no legs to push him back. Kai also does not like it when a woman is on top; the only time when he will allow it, is when he is certain that the woman knows what she is doing, that usually being a woman that Kai first wants to please before he pleases himself. With Miriam he is not sure yet on how she is in bed, for now he does not want her on top, but after they have had sex a few times more, he will be certain on how she is exactly.

Miriam can feel how her body is becoming clammy from all of the sweat, and how Kai’s body heat is adding to that sweatiness and humid feeling of her body. Her mission is completely forgotten for now, all of her thoughts swirling around Kai and the fantastic sex that she is having right now.

She has shared her bed with a good number of men, but only a select few can fall into the same class as Kai; there is no doubt that the guy has been around the block a few times, and she is not complaining at all. Promiscuity is the new order at the end of the day and the rules of the old society has long gone. No more living according to the elders’ rules and regulations, because the youth of today sees it as something very boring and unnecessary and they do not want to feel bound by the principles of a hundred years ago. Miriam sees sex as a dirty thing, and she loves it.

Sex is not as beautiful as it is portrayed in romance novels or in movies because there is no way two naked people moaning and groaning and acting like sex crazed animals can be anything beautiful. The only time when it can really be beautiful is probably when someone is making love to their one true love. On all the other occasions it is nothing but animalistic, seeing as it is mostly hormones driving people to have sex, and after they are done with the deed, the excitement is gone, the lust and hunger long diminished and each party just wants to go on their own way, and that is why she sees sex as a dirty thing, but still it is a very, very enjoyable thing.

Kai can feel he is getting closer to his end, thus increasing his thrusting even more, along with his tight grip on Miriam’s hair, this also causing Miriam to grip the couch even tighter, and to give out a throaty moan. Kai bites into Miriam’s shoulder as he feels how his mind goes blank with his orgasm, feeling how his essence leaves his body and fills the condom. The numbing of his legs and tingling feeling in his body is a feeling Kai can welcome any time of the day and any day of the week because it is a feeling unlike anything else on this planet, not even the high from cocaine can compare to this, although having sex after snorting a few lines of coke is also something very extraordinary for Kai.

His orgasm is intense but unfortunately quick, and that is the only thing that pisses Kai off: the fact that men can’t have those long orgasms like women can. After giving one last deep hard thrust, and holding it there for a few seconds, Kai empties himself completely, and finally feels how his body starts to relax, the tingling passing and the use of his legs returning. By the sounds of it, Miriam did not come a second time although she may have been very close, but that is the last of Kai’s worries now.

Miriam feels how Kai releases his hold on her hair, an indication that he is done. He straightens himself and removes himself from Miriam, she suddenly missing the aggressive thrusting, and she can almost still feel him within her, her inner walls still throbbing. Miriam remains lying on her stomach, just trying to get her normal breathing back. She listens to how Kai moves around, he searching for something from within his trouser’s pockets and soon after Miriam hears a click noise and then the definite smell of smoke starting to fill her nose, Kai having lit a cigarette for himself.

‘Typical man, always has to find some comfort afterwards,’ Miriam thinks to herself, as she continues to listen how Kai removes the condom, placing it back in to the foil packet and then puts on his trousers.

Kai does not even glance at Miriam as he goes to the counter to retrieve the bottle of vodka while taking a few drags from his cigarette. Now that he has had his fill, he just wants her to get up and get out so that he can have some peace and quiet to himself. He comes walking back to the couch, seeing the naked black haired beauty still lying on the couch, her eyes closed and her breathing still somewhat irregular, Kai smirking to himself at this. He takes his seat across from her, she just opening one eye to look at him, and after closing it again, she just smiles at Kai.

“You sure like it rough, Kai.”

“I didn’t take you as the gentle type.”

With the smile still plastered her features, Miriam gathers all of her remaining strength, and pushes herself up, returning to a seated position once more, giving Kai a full view of her naked body while doing this, he just smirking at her while roaming her body all over again with his eyes, feeling pleased that he had just had that naked body under him.

“I’m not the gentle type, believe me; I like it rough, deep and hard. The dirtier the sex, the better for me.”

Kai just chuckles at that, thinking that he has to get her address so that he can go and visit her again tomorrow night.

Kai takes a sip from the bottle of vodka, the strong alcohol drink feeling indescribably good as it makes its way down his throat.

“Mind if I get some of that stuff that is making you look so happy?” Miriam asks while removing the bobby pins from her hair so that it can look presentable once more, despite it not being in the up-style from earlier.

Kai just gives a nod, and after placing his burning cigarette in the ashtray, he gets up to go and get another glass from the bar counter, and as Miriam watches him walk over to the counter, she sees his tattoos on his back, the view along with his toned body just giving her a completely new feeling of arousal, but unfortunately she has a job to do, and now is the time to complete it.

‘Within a few minutes, Kai Hiwatari will be no more,’ Miriam thinks to herself as Kai comes walking back to his couch, she taking a good look at his body right now, seeing as there was no time to do that earlier. She did not even notice his nipple stud, Miriam finding it very attractive on Kai, it just complimenting his whole body, along with all of the tattoos and perfectly toned muscles.

After sitting down, Kai pours her drink into her glass, and then pushes the glass to her. Miriam knows that she has to get a way for him to get out of the room without him suspecting anything, and just then an idea pops into her head.

“Got any ice in this fancy place? I like to drink the hard stuff on the rocks, not clean or mixed,” Miriam says, trying to sound as naughty as she can. He just gives her another nod and gets up, disappearing from the room.

‘Sorry, Kai, but it is nothing personal; it is just business.’

While still being naked, Miriam quickly reaches for her purse, removing a small black bottle within the purse, and after carefully opening it, she drops three drops of the transparent liquid into Kai’s bottle, the three drops being more than enough to kill him. She quickly places the bottle back into her purse and just in time because just then Kai returns with the ice bucket, holding it for Miriam to take the amount of ice blocks that she wants within her drink. 

“Here is to the marvellous night, your new medical business and to all of the wonderful sex that is still to come,” Miriam says while holding up her glass, Kai following suit with his bottle, each one taking a sip from their drink.

Miriam places her drink back onto the glass table and gets up to get dressed, Kai watching the whole process in detail. Miriam slips on her thong as slow as possible, sliding it up her legs; she proceeds to do the same with her dress, and after finishing up with putting on her dress, she looks at Kai and immediately sees that he is starting to look and act strangely, he rubbing his forehead a few times, his attention no longer being on her. Miriam says nothing and just looks on at how Kai shakes his head a few times, knowing full well that the poison is starting to take effect.

Kai looks up at Miriam, she looking at him with no expression on her face, a horrible realisation suddenly dawning on him: she had just poisoned his drink, and whatever it was that she had used, is powerful stuff, because he is losing all feeling in his body, and he is losing it at an alarmingly fast rate.

“You....you pois....” is all Kai manages to say in a hoarse voice.

“Poisoned you? Yes, my dear Kai, I did,” Miriam proceeds to casually put on her shoes, while talking to Kai, “It is nothing personal, just business. My real name is Phantom, assassin for hire, and I know that you have heard of me before. Any crime boss worth his title wants me, or at least knows about me, and right now, you my dear, sweet Kai, is my first job for my new boss. I believe you know him very well, Boris Balkov. He also sends his regards by the way.”

Kai cannot believe his ears, how could he have been so stupid and be so off guard. Kai cannot say anything as he had just lost the ability to talk, his whole body almost completely numb by now; the bottle of vodka falls from his hands, it falling onto the carpet, the contents spilling from the bottle.

“Don’t worry, Kai, it will all be over soon; within a few minutes your suffering will be over. I do have an antidote,” Miriam pulls out a syringe out of her purse, it containing a blue liquid inside, “but I just brought it along for me, you know, just in case I had ingested some of it by accident. Just one stab to the heart with this antidote and all of your suffering will be over but unfortunately you have to die, Mr Hiwatari. It really is.......”

Miriam stops mid sentence when she suddenly hears scratching against a door, along with meowing of cats. Iris and Tiger are sensing that something is wrong with their human, and they are desperately trying to get out of the room in order to get to him.

Kai watches how a hateful scowl takes over Phantom’s face, she immediately pulling out a small hand gun from her purse.

“I. Hate. Cats.” is all she says before getting up and then heading into the direction of where the noise is coming from.

Panic suddenly takes over Kai’s body, he becoming petrified of what she is going to do to his cats. Kai desperately searches around for a way to help his cats, but the way his body is acting now, he won’t even make it off of this couch.

‘I can’t let her do this, not to my kids. There is no way in hell that bitch is hurting them!’ that thought alone sparking something within Kai, he feeling how he suddenly gets a burst of energy from who knows where, and in one swift movement, he gets up, grabs the bottle of vodka from the floor and runs after Phantom, his footsteps being muffled by the luxurious carpets that is all over the suite, and just as she is about to open the door where the scratching is coming from, Kai yells behind her ‘die bitch!’, and unfortunately for her, before she can react, Kai hits her over her head with the bottle, smashing it against her head.

Both of them fall to the floor, and using the last bit of energy that he has, Kai takes the remaining piece of the smashed bottle that he still has in his hand, which is the neck of the bottle, and stabs Phantom in her neck three times, on her left side, severing her aorta, the walls and floor covered with blood splatters. Miriam grabs her neck with a horrified and fear stricken expression on her face but the damage has already been done.

It takes only a few seconds before she is lying in a pool of her own blood, eyes wide open, but death has already claimed her. While lying on his back, Kai retrieves his cell phone from his pocket but does not call; he is too weak to make a call. He just presses the power button at the side of the phone, it acting as a panic button and it can only contact Tala. Whether he pressed the button long enough, he is not sure because just then Kai’s eyes closed, his head drooping to the side, the last sound filling his ears being that of his cats that are still scratching and meowing on the other side of the door, the two calling in distress for their human.

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“Stop telling my husband all of your sleazy sex stories, Ray; you may just give him some ideas that I will have to turn down, and can you already imagine this doll face being heartbroken,” Alisia says while taking Tala by the chin and causing him to pout like a child’s face.

Ray just chuckles at that, “I doubt he will get any ideas from me. If I had to compare myself to you guys, my sex escapades will look like that of a saint compared to yours,” this remark causing both Alisia and Tala to grin from ear to ear, knowing full well that _that_ is the truth.

The three friends are currently engaged in a naughty conversation, Ray telling him about a woman that he had met about two weeks ago and how she finds bondage extremely sexy, whether she is the dominant or the submissive one, and Ray is also enjoying this new adventure of his, and he would really like to share his experience with Kai, knowing that his boss/friend will appreciate every detail of it.

“You see what I mean,” Ray replies upon the two Ivanovs’ grinning.

“Hey, I can’t help that I married a sex kitten.”

“Oh, so your husband is the kitten, and what are you, the tiger or what?”

“Of course, how else should it be?”

“Hey! Don’t you mean that I am the sex tiger and you the sex kitten?”

“Ah, my love,” Alisia pinches Tala’s cheek, “I know that you want to believe that, but we both know who makes who scream the most,” she says and winks at her husband.

“Hn, I know who I make scream,” Tala replies sounding very cheeky, “Just because.....hold on,” Tala says when feeling a buzzing within his pocket and quickly removes the phone.

Ray and Alisia do not make anything of it until they see how quickly Tala’s expression turns into one of panic after Tala looks at the screen of his phone.

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

Tala says nothing and just shows them both the screen, the letters HELP showing in red, Kai’s name right under the red display, both Alisia and Ray also knowing what it means.

“Kai’s in trouble.”

The three friends quickly look around, seeing that no one is looking at them, and then walks out of the room in a hurry, heading for the elevator to go to the suite, they all knowing full well that _that_ is the first place that they have to go now.

While in the elevator, Tala tries numerous times to call Kai but nothing; he even tries to call their room, and also nothing, causing all three to become even more panicked.

Finally they reach the room, Tala rushing into the room, immediately calling for Kai but no answer. Alisia comes running in right after her husband and immediately sees Kai’s shoes and shirt near the couch, it being clear as daylight that something had happened some time ago. She also spots two glasses on the coffee table, there being no doubt in her mind that the black haired woman had been with Kai.

“Kai!”

Alisia hears Tala scream, she and Ray rushing to where he exclaimed from, both seeing Tala kneeling by an unconscious Kai, he laying next to a pool of blood that is without a doubt coming from the black haired woman from earlier. The cats are still going on hysterically from the other side of the door, but they can’t be allowed out right now. Alisia quickly kneels by Kai’s side, trying to feel for a pulse, while Tala continues calling Kai’s name.

“Come on, Kai, wake up, please, open your eyes!”

“He has a pulse, but it is very weak. Ray, go get Valerie, please.”

Ray runs out the door, pulling out his phone in the process, because he wants to call Valerie while on his way to her.

“Kai, you idiot! I told you to leave her alone, why didn’t you just listen?! Look at what is going on!” Alisia half yells at Kai, tears already forming within her eyes.

“Alisia, that is enough!”

Alisia knows that whenever Tala calls her by her name, she has done something very wrong now, and she knows very well what she had just done.

“I’m sorry, my love, but I told him to leave her, and look at this,” she says while gesturing with her right hand over Kai’s body.

Tala pays his wife no heed and continues to call Kai’s name while slapping him continuously on his cheeks; even Alisia joins in, she shaking Kai, they both trying to get Kai to open up his eyes.

“Come on, Kai, your cats are calling for you; come on, open up your eyes, please, Kai,” Alisia says in a pleading voice, her voice sounding a bit croaky, she fighting to hold back her tears.

Just then both Tala and Alisia hears a low groan coming from Kai but no movement yet.

“Kai! Come on, Hiwatari, open up those pretty eyes, please.”

Kai tries his best to open up his eyes, he hearing voices but not being sure of whom they belong to. He has to get the antidote, but he can’t move, nor speak, so he can’t let anyone know about it in Phantom’s purse.

‘Come on, Hiwatari, you are not going down this way. Stop your laziness and let them know about the purse. Do it your weak ass!” he scolds himself. With as much energy as he can muster, Kai manages to say a word, “P....purse....” that being all that he can manage to say right now.

“Purse?” both Ivanov’s asks, looking at each other with dumbfounded looks. Alisia starts to look around them and spots a black evening purse and quickly crawls over to it, opening it and finding a syringe with a blue liquid in it.

“Is the syringe what you are looking for, Kai?”

Kai does not nod, and instead just says another word, “Chest....”

“I think we should plunge it into his chest, Tala.”

Tala just sighs, having no idea what is really going on. All he knows is that he does not want to lose his best friend.

“Fine, but I will do it. It should properly be stabbed into the heart,” Tala says, being very uncertain about the whole situation.

Alisia hands Tala the syringe, she proceeding to go sit at Kai’s head, placing his head on her lap. She can see that Tala is having an internal battle with himself, but then she takes his one hand in hers, smiling at him, “You can do it; it is going to be alright, my love.”

Tala just gives a silent nod to his wife and readies himself to stab his friend in the heart with a needle that looks like it should be used on a blue whale.

“Sorry, Kai, but hopefully you will be better after this horrible ordeal.”

Kai shows no indication that he has a heard a word.

With one last look at his wife, she just giving him a single nod, Tala plunges the thick needle into Kai’s heart, emptying the contents into his friend. A few seconds passes which feels like an eternity to both Alisia and Tala, before they start to notice a reaction within Kai.

The stabbing into his heart had hurt like hell, but he had immediately felt how the stuff started to travel throughout his entire body, the countering of the poison starting very suddenly. Kai is starting to feel how his nerves are starting to tingle, that alone being a good sign that the antidote is working, he becoming more and more aware of his surroundings, although his eyes are still closed.

“Kai? Can you hear me?”

A wave of relief washes over both Tala and Alisia when Kai gives them a nod. Alisia starts to stroke Kai’s forehead with a gentle hand, Tala taking Kai’s hand into his, giving it gentle squeeze.

“Are you feeling better, Kai?”

Another nod comes from Kai, this being a very good indication to Alisia and Tala.

“My cats, open the door, please,” Kai says in a hushed voice, but Tala hears him and gets up, and the moment the red head had opens the door, both cats hurry to Kai, both felines getting on top of Kai, nudging him with their heads, meowing while doing it; this results in Kai just smiling at the gesture, although he is still too weak to caress them now.

Alisia remains in her position, she also just smiling at how the cats are comforting Kai right now, but while looking at the cats and how they are comforting their human, a feeling of deep longing suddenly takes her over, she feeling very empty on the inside, like something very important is missing from her life right now, but she is not sure what it is. Putting it at the back of her mind for now she turns her attention back to the scene that is currently playing out in front of her.

No one even cares about the body of the woman that is lying just a few feet away from them, this horrible and almost tragic event being all of her fault anyway.

Just then, Ray and Valerie comes rushing in, both out of breath.

“We took the.....stairs. Elevator......too slow,” is all Ray manages to say between taking deep breaths.

Valerie says nothing and just kneels beside Kai, taking his left wrist in her hands, feeling his heart beat.

“What happened?” she asks no one in particular.

“Poison, but we got something in the culprit’s purse, an injection, and gave it to Kai, and luckily it worked because he is really getting better by the minute.”

“Good; Kai? Can you please open your eyes for me?”

With a few fluttering movements of his eyelids, Kai finally manages to open his eyes, his beautiful brown eyes looking straight into Valerie’s blue eyes, she just smiling softly at him.

“Hey, brown eyes, how are you feeling?”

“Crap.”

“Honey, you have no idea how crap feels,” Valerie says with a chuckle, the other three occupants also softly chuckling at that.

“Hn.”

“There you go, ladies and gentlemen, the great Kai Hiwatari is back.”

To everyone’s amazement, Kai reaches for his cats with his right arm to pet them, both cats leaning into the touch of their human, both of them making their purring noises.

“I am going to arrange that you get airlifted to the hospital, Kai; they will have to run a few tests on you, and there is no arguing, alright? And don’t worry, we will keep it quiet; no one will know of what had transpired here tonight.”

“Fine.”

Valerie gets up and walks out to make a few phone calls.

“You sure gave us a huge fright, Kai.”

“Yeah, you idiot; I ought to beat the shit out of you right now.”

“Hn; you can try but I already know who will walk away victorious,” Kai says with a smirk on his face, although his eyes are closed once again.

“Cocky bastard,” is all Alisia mutters in a playful manner, Kai hearing it clearly, seeing as his head is still on her lap, and she is still gently stroking his forehead.

A silence falls upon the occupants but a comfortable silence, the only sound that can be heard being that of the cats that are still purring as Kai continues to caress his cats.

Not long after she had left, Valerie comes back to join the three friends.

“The chopper will be here shortly and I have also arranged for a few guys to come and remove the body and to clean up the place; who is she anyway, Kai?”

“An employee of Boris.”

“What?!” all three exclaim.

“Please tell me it is some kind of joke.”

“It is Phantom, she had worked for Johnny and Antonio at a time, so no, it is no joke; Boris had hired her just like all of the others had done in the past.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

“Phantom? Hold on, I am not with you guys.”

Tala just smiles at his wife, her unintentional lost attitude being like a breath of a fresh air for him.

“Phantom, that is the name she goes by now, but no one knows her real name. She is an excellent assassin for hire, and she has built quite a reputation for herself. She has worked for many of the powerful mobs and mafia families all over the world, she never missing a hit. Just too bad that Kai had to be her next target.”

“So she has a 100% success rate?”

“Well, not anymore after tonight.”

“Decapitate her head and send it to Boris, sending my regards along with it,” Kai says in a cold tone, the others just looking at each other. Kai is finally back to his old self, and he is pissed. Hell is going to be unleashed, and Kai is going to be the one to unleash that hell.

“Sure; I guess that you are feeling much better now?”

Without answering Tala’s question, Kai holds both of his cats and sits up straight, each muscle in his uncovered upper body flexing as he moves, Kai craning his neck and cracking all of the stiff joints, the fire in his eyes burning with a seething hatred and a determination that cannot be matched. Trying to kill him, and almost succeeding, has been a very wrong move on Boris’ part, and Kai is going to make him regret for ever walking this earth.

With his cats securely in his arms, Kai gets up and walks to the living room, his mind already working in full drive on all of the possible methods he wants to destroy and torture Boris with, and it is not going to be pretty.

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It is just past nine PM, the weather being brutal as icy cold winds are blowing, a blizzard that is on its way to the capital city of Russia. The weather is so depressing that even the animals and wild life may start thinking and considering suicide just to escape this current weather.

In the old Grekov residence, the mood is slightly different; instead of a gloomy aura surrounding everyone, an adrenaline filled aura is filling the house, more specifically the old dining room that has been turned into a training room/ gym.

Bryan and Anastasia are currently rolling around on the mats, the two wrestling as Bryan has finally finished teaching Anastasia about joint locks, and now he is testing her to see whether she can think clear and fast enough should she find herself in a struggle in the future.

Bryan is in just a pair of black male track suit pants, Anastasia not ignoring the fact that the pair of pants shows off Bryan’s toned legs perfectly; she is dressed in a tight woman’s black coloured sports bra with a grey coloured three quarter woman’s tracksuit pants, and both are covered in sweat as the two have been wrestling for quite some time now, Bryan pushing Anastasia past her limits.

“Stop being such a girl and start assaulting me, kid!”

Anastasia is trying her best to get Bryan into an arm lock, but he is just being too difficult on purpose, and she does not like it one bit.

“I would if you just gave me a chance!”

Bryan once again flips Anastasia onto her back when she once again tries to lock his arms behind his head.

“No one is going to give you a chance in real life; again!”

The two get up once more just to start wrestle again so that Anastasia can overpower him and try to get his arms into an arm lock. They get into a struggle once again, Anastasia trying her best, and just as she is about to give up the whole thing, she gets a break and manages to flip Bryan onto his stomach by kicking both of his feet from underneath him, and she locks both of his arms behind his head, she sitting on top of him while holding his arms in a tight hold.

“Say ‘master’,” Anastasia playfully says while both of them are panting from the fight.

Bryan just smirks up at the blonde, he knowing that she has started to celebrate way too early, and before Anastasia can do anything, Bryan pushes up his body, causing Anastasia to lose her balance and fall off of him, and within seconds, he has her on her back with her arms pinned above her head, Bryan’s body pinning her body to the mat, their faces being only a few inches away from each other, and suddenly the fighting has changed into something much too intimate, they both looking deep into each other’s eyes, feeling each other’s breaths on their skins, Anastasia also becoming very aware of how hot Bryan’s skin is feeling against her own right now. She can almost feel his lips on her own, and she would not mind kissing them right now.

Bryan just looks in to her green eyes, almost as if getting lost within them, all sense and logic quickly gone from his mind, his body taking on a will of its own, and his soul fighting against his body right now. His body wants to claim her right here, right now on this mat, but his soul is screaming that he should just get up and go for a jog in the blistering cold because what his body wants to do right now is very, very wrong. His eyes are locked with Anastasia’s eyes, and as long as he is staring into those beautiful and unique spring green pools, his body’s urges will prevail.

He wants to taste those lips, feel them move against his own, he wants his tongue to explore her inner cavern of her mouth, that mouth that is sometimes so brutal with what it is saying, and yet so intriguing, and that is not all that his tongue wants to explore right now – her body is also not off limits. He wants to lick her all over, tasting and teasing all the forbidden areas, he wants to roam every inch of her body with his hands, he wants to make her react to every sensual touch he places upon her body, and after he has tasted and touched her all over her body, he wants to claim her, taking her body and taking it all night long, making her moan as he gives her pleasure in every possible way, making sure that she gets her fill over and over again.

Lord knows that he has wanted to do that for some time now.

Anastasia can feel how her heart is racing and it feels like the pumping muscle might jump out of her throat any second now, and it is not because of the wrestling; the close proximity of Bryan to her own body is the cause for her uncontrollable heartbeat right now. Feeling how securely he is holding her wrists right now is making her feel and think unspeakable things right now. She can feel how her carnal urges are taking over all logic right now, she feeling how a slight pulsing feel is starting in her nether regions. She wants to feel Bryan in between her legs right now, she wants to dig her finger nails into his back, drag them all along his back, clutching onto his upper arms while having her legs wrapped tightly around his waist as he moves within her. She wants to moan into his ears, moaning things like ‘take me, make me yours’, as he claims her over and over again.

Being around such a big guy as Bryan, and the fact that he is also something to look at, or rather to stare and drool at, is really making it hard for a young woman to contain her sexual urges, especially since she is seeing him so much and feeling his hands on her body daily, even if it is just for demonstrating something.

She can’t seem to tear her eyes away from his right now, his eyes containing a look that she has never seen before, it almost looking like a look of craving, of hunger, it looking like that of a predator that is about to pounce on to its victim. Anastasia can feel his deep breathing on her skin, the warmth accompanying it having a disastrous effect on all of her common senses right now. She looks on at how Bryan’s eyes moves down to her lips, her lips that are slightly parted as she is still a bit out of breath, her breath suddenly getting caught in her throat upon seeing his eyes linger on her mouth.

‘Kiss me already, you muscle god. Kiss me and claim me!’ Anastasia yells within her mind.

Bryan’s eyes remain on her mouth a while longer before returning to look deep within Anastasia’s eyes, all of the alarms going off in his head. All he has to do is to lean down, to close the small gap between them, and then he will finally be able to taste those luscious lips, those poisonous lips that have been plaguing his mind for a while now. He wants to rip off her clothes while he kisses her, feeling her fingers dig into his skin.

‘How the hell did it happen that I have such a strong desire for you, Anastasia?! It is not normal, and it was not suppose to happen! Damn you, kid!’

Once more, Bryan’s eyes move down to Anastasia’s mouth, her lips mocking him in a seductive manner, at least, that is how the big Russian sees it right now.

‘I must have you,’ is all he thinks, his head starting to lower itself on its own accord.

On reflex, Anastasia slowly closes her eyes, her whole body waiting in anticipation to feel her ‘teacher’s’ lips on her own, and just as the gap is about to close between the two, the honking of a car is heard outside, followed by the screeching of tires, and then the yelp of a dog as it is hit by the car, this being all that it takes to stop both Bryan and Anastasia in their tracks.

Bryan is the first one to come back to his senses, and after blinking his eyes a few times, his trance finally gets broken, he quickly getting off of Anastasia, standing up in a flash. He avoids looking at her directly and just clears his throat, and without waiting a second longer, he heads towards the door to go and see what had just happened.

Anastasia just lifts her upper body and rests on her elbows, while looking at Bryan’s retreating back. Her heart is beating at a very alarming rate right now, and she can actually see it beat within in her stomach. She is already missing the feel of his body on her own body right now. She can’t deny the fact that she is attracted to him, it mostly being sexual attraction, because what straight woman will be able to resist a guy like Bryan, that big muscular body of his that can only do wonders to a woman’s body, when living under the same roof, especially for the amount of time they have been living together now.

Shaking her head from side to side, Anastasia finally composes herself so that she can also go and see what had just happened to the dog. She finally gets up and starts to make her way out of the door towards the street, Bryan already kneeling by the side of the dog as a few other people have already gathered around the dog and the car, the lights of the car shining on Bryan. Within seconds, Anastasia is by Bryan’s side, she immediately noticing that the dog’s left back leg is broken.

“We have to get him to the hospital,” is all she says while avoiding Bryan’s eyes.

“I’ll go get the truck,” is all he replies, and then gets up and jogs back to the house to get his truck.

“Whose dog is this?”

“We don’t know; it looks like a stray dog.”

“I am so sorry, I did not see the dog, I am really sorry for hitting the dog,” is all the owner of the car says, it being a woman that seems to be about Bryan’s age.

Everyone is dressed in coats, Anastasia being the only one not to feel the cold right now, that being for two completely different reasons.

“Do you think he will be okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I will take care of the dog, so it will be okay,” is all Anastasia says to the driver while continuing to caress the trembling dog.

“Don’t worry, boy, soon you will be all fixed up.”

Anastasia hears the roar of Bryan’s truck as he comes reversing into the street, stopping right beside her. He gets out, she noticing that Bryan had put on a shirt, and that he has a blanket with him. Bryan kneels beside her, picking up the dog, Anastasia not missing the jolts that are running through her body upon feeling his skin touch against hers.

“Go lock the house so that we can get this guy to the hospital,” is all he says to her while also avoiding her eyes.

Anastasia says nothing and instead just gets up, running into the house to retrieve her wallet and phone, completely forgetting about a jacket for both her and Bryan, and after locking the house, she runs back to the truck and jumps in next to Bryan, the dog placed right between the two on the seat.

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It is almost midnight, and Bryan’s truck finally parks in the driveway, the two hurrying into the house to get out of the horrible cold. The dog is still at the vet but luckily the broken bone had been fixed, seeing as it was just a simple and clean break. Anastasia is going to walk around the neighbourhood tomorrow to try and find the owner of the dog, and if she does not succeed, she is going to keep the dog for herself.

She and Bryan had avoided each other’s eyes the entire time, hardly speaking a word to each other.

The two finally reach the warmth of the house, the two still avoiding each other as they both take a seat in the living room, each one on their own couch. Bryan proceeds to switch on the TV, he and Anastasia just looking at the screen, not really focusing on what is being shown on the screen, as both are lost in their own thoughts.

Anastasia takes a quick glance in Bryan’s direction, he looking focused on what is playing on the TV; if only she knew that the TV is the very last place where Bryan’s focus is right now.

Bryan feels like a wild animal that had just been placed in a small cage, he feeling like he is going to suffocate any minute now, ‘I have to get out of here, and not just for an hour. It has to be longer’.

At least five minutes of silence passes by before Bryan finally breaks it, all while still avoiding looking at Anastasia, “I am going out for a while. I think we both deserve some time off, so the next two days there will be no training.”

Anastasia looks at him, seeing that he still avoiding her, “Sure, whatever you say.”

“I am going to pack a few things and then leave. I will see after the two days.”

“You are going to leave now? In this weather?”

“We just came from that weather and have survived.”

“Alright. I guess I will see you after our break then, and thanks anyway.”

“Don’t mention it,” is all Bryan says before getting up, making his way upstairs.

Deciding that she is not in the mood for TV, Anastasia also gets up and heads for the kitchen to go and fix her something to eat.

She takes a seat at the counter after fixing her a bowl of cereal, and starts to eat, secretly hoping that Bryan will at least come and greet her before he leaves, but unfortunately that is not going to happen as she hears his truck start, and then reverses out of the driveway, her mood suddenly becoming dampen by his abrupt departure.

Anastasia still has no idea of what had happened earlier, and why Bryan had suddenly started to act so differently towards her after that little incident. Her mind starts to drift back to how close their lips were, how she could almost taste him, how her body started to react towards his touch. Having Bryan on top of her like that sure felt good, actually, it felt exhilarating.

She can already see the two of them: naked, sweaty, hands entwined as their bodies move with each other, their ragged breathing mixing together as they have mind blowing sex, she moaning into his ear as his lips move on her skin, kissing her all over as he thrusts into her, over and over again. She can see how she drags her nails all along his skin, feeling how his muscles flex under her touch, feeling his rock hard abs press up against her skin as the friction increases more and more with each thrust into her.

Just the mere thought of having this big muscular guy move within her is already enough for her to become wet, her panties already feeling a bit clammy on the inside.

“Get a grip, Grekov; Bryan is your teacher. He has to teach you on how to become a fighter, so you have to get your shit together, so stop thinking of the guy in a sexual manner. Nothing good can come of it. Yeah, but if only....”

Anastasia finally manages to finish her cereal. She glances up at the kitchen clock and sees that it is almost one ‘o clock, there still being enough time to go and take a long hot bath, just to get rid of all of her dirty thoughts. After cleaning the kitchen and making sure that everything is locked, she heads upstairs to go and relax in a bubble filled bath, her body needing the rest anyway.

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At the Feniks Manor, the weather is no different; in fact, the temperature is even more freezing here than it is in the city, but luckily everyone is on the inside of the Manor, everyone busy with their own form of entertainment.

For Kai and Valerie, it is sex, or rather the calming down from a heated sex session. Both are still in bed, Kai sitting halfway against the headboard of the king size bed, a cigarette in his right hand, only the bottom part of his legs being covered with the covers; Valerie is sitting on top of Kai, she also smoking on a cigarette.

It is the night after the launch, Kai in perfect health once more, although he is still beyond pissed at Phantom and Boris. After having gone through a few tests at the hospital, Kai came back to the Feniks Manor to remove Phantom’s head with his own hands, using a scalpel to remove the head of the black haired beauty. Currently the head is sitting in a freezer, Kai waiting for the opportune moment to send the head to Boris.

By now, Boris already knows something has happened and that it is not in his favour, seeing as he is struggling to get hold of Phantom, and there has also been no news about Kai being dead; instead, the only news from the young Hiwatari business mogul is about the successful launch of the medical area of Hiwatari Enterprises, and what can be expected from it in the near future.

Kai has already made plans on how he is going to execute his revenge, and it does not include the death of his enemy, for death will be too easy for Boris in his eyes. Not too far in the future, Boris will be hit very hard and he will realise that Kai is not someone to mess with.

For now, Kai is enjoying some lovely female company.

“Well, I am glad to see that last night’s events have not made you insufficient,” Valerie teases her lover.

“Please,” Kai replies in a dull tone, to which Valerie just chuckles.

“Also it did not hinder that lovely sense of humour of yours,” Valerie teases Kai even more, to which he just rolls his eyes and takes another drag from his cigarette.

Valerie kills her cigarette in the ashtray that is resting on top of Kai’s stomach before making herself even more comfortable on Kai’s lap while softly stroking the muscles of his stomach.

“Kai, I know that you don’t want to hear this, but will you please start scaling down on the number of women you have sex with, please; it is for your own safety. Just look at last night, you would have been gone if fate had not intervened. I am begging you, as a long time friend who does not want to lose her long time friend, please stop sleeping with every woman that crosses your path.”

Kai just looks at Valerie, he having no expression on his face. He honestly does not know what to say to what Valerie has just asked of him. He knows that it had been his own fault of what Phantom had done to him because once again he had thought with the small head in his trousers, instead of the one that is situated on the top of his body.

However, the main question is not that of him that should stop sleeping around, but more like, can he stop sleeping around? He is almost certain that he is on the brink of becoming a sex addict, if he is not one already; he just loves sex way too much to even think of giving it up. Maybe if he meets someone in the future, that someone special, maybe then will he stop sleeping around and just keep with that one partner, but that seems highly unlikely because he does not even know the first thing about being in love, although Anastasia Grekov were a completely different situation, but the young blonde is completely out of the picture; she does not belong in his world and she never will belong in it. So it is kind of already settled: he is not going to stop sleeping around.

“I am serious , Kai; start considering the idea of getting to know a woman, and who knows, you might meet the future Mrs Hiwatari who will make you forget all about the other women on earth.”

At this Kai just snorts because it just sounds absolutely ludicrous to him, ‘The future Mrs Hiwatari? Please,’ is all Kai thinks about the whole situation.

“Just drop the topic, Val; I will do what I think is good for me, and for now, having sex with various women is good for me. Various attempts have already been made on my life and not one of them have stopped me from living my life; one more incident is not going to make a difference,” and as if to emphasise on his reply, Kai crushes the bud of his cigarette with force into the ashtray, Valerie getting the message.

“Alright, fine; I will drop the topic, but just think about it. And now, there is something else that I have to talk to you about, and it is more of a bomb that I have to drop on to you.”

Before continuing with whatever she has to say, Valerie leans down and sensually starts to kiss Kai’s toned stomach, her hands still stroking his skin. Kai just places his hands behind her head, leaning even more against the headrest while watching and waiting for Valerie to continue with whatever she has to ‘drop on him’.

Valerie places a few more sensual kisses on his stomach before taking up her previous position, and seeing that Kai is waiting for her to continue, she also stops her stroking of his stomach.

“This is our last night together because I have met someone, and we have been seeing each other for the past four months, and no, it is not another guy; it is a woman.”

“What?” is all Kai says in a rather surprised voice, he immediately sitting up while placing his hands on Valerie’s hips, the look of surprise all over his face.

“Yeeaahhh, I’m gay, Kai.”

“You were not kidding when you said that you had a bomb to drop; that is no normal bomb, Val; it is a nuclear warhead.”

Valerie just smirks at Kai, he clearly beyond surprised about what she had just said.

“The woman from last night, she is the one?”

Valerie just nods at him, knowing that Kai would have figured out that part within seconds.

“It just happened, Kai; I mean, you of all people know how much I love sex that involves the male reproductive organ, but with Inessa, I don’t know, something just clicked. We met at a party that some of the older students threw. I were a little tipsy when she approached me but we just hit it off and before I knew it, I had her on her back, doing stuff to her that has only been done to me, but it just felt so right. She had told me that she is a lesbian earlier that night, but it did not matter to me. I told her that I am straight but apparently now a day that means absolutely nothing. After our little encounter, I just could not get her out of my head; something just happened between us and I could not ignore it. We got into contact shortly afterwards and none of us could ignore what we had felt, and yeah, as the saying goes, the rest is history.”

“I will be honest, I am kind of pissed that another woman took you from me, but on the other hand, everyone deserves happiness, no matter what the gender. I will put my selfishness aside and be happy for you, Val, and I mean it.”

Valerie leans her head down and captures Kai’s lips, kissing him very intimately, he returning the gesture full on.

The two only pull away after a while when they realise that they are in dire need of some oxygen.

“Does she know about us,” is all Kai asks while breathing into Valerie’s neck, his arousal at full attention once more.

“Yes, and she knows that I am with you right now, and that this will be my last night with you.”

Kai starts to kiss Valerie in her neck, his hands holding her firmly by her hips while his erection is pressing against her clitoris; Valerie just tilts her head back slightly, taking in the feel of Kai’s lips against her skin, taking in the last time that she will feel it, her hands clutching Kai’s shoulders as she feels his erection between her legs.

“If it is our last night together, then we better make it a memorable one,” Kai huskily says against Valerie’s skin, Kai’s voice against her skin sending flutters throughout her entire body.

Kai breaks the kissing and pulls away to retrieve a foil packet from his bed stand. He opens the packet and removes the condom and just as he is about to put it on, Valerie takes it from his hand, smirking at him.

“I think I will do that honours, seeing as this will be the last time that I am going to handle a real live penis,” is all she says in a playful tone, and with a seductive touch, Valerie uses both of her hands to put on the condom, she taking in every inch of Kai’s erect penis.

After she had completed her task, she kisses Kai once more, their hands immediately taking their rightful place on each other’s bodies. Kai proceeds to lift Valerie and slowly lowers her on to him, and as he lowers her, he penetrates her, she feeling how he goes in deeper and deeper, she welcoming it all as she gives a satisfied moan into Kai’s mouth. After being fully immersed within her, Valerie starts moving her hips, increasing the pace until she and Kai moves in sync with each other.

Kai’s hands are holding Valerie tight against him, pushing his pelvis up as far as possible to ensure that he penetrates her to the maximum, he grunting every time she clenches her inner cavern around his penis. This movement goes on for a while until Kai finally picks her up and lightly tosses her onto her back, he getting on top of her, Kai placing both of her arms above her head and entwining their fingers. The two now-almost-former-lovers just gazes into each other’s eyes, their eyes saying what still has to be said, and after a mutual and silent agreement is made between the two, their mouths once again meet, but this time with more passion and desire for each other, the sense of saying goodbye being felt by both of them.

This may be their last night together but it is going to be extraordinary, and one that both of them will always remember and cherish, their bodies taking in every touch, every sound, every sight, and storing it deep within their minds so that it will always have a special place within their minds. Their bodies are ensuring a special bond between the two that will never be broken after tonight, no matter what the situation will be in the future.

This may be the night that two lovers are greeting and ending their sexual journey, but it is also the start of a new journey, a journey filled with nothing but respect, sibling love, compassion, the utmost trust and a special friendship between a man and a woman, a newly formed friendship, a platonic friendship that is going to be filled with a lot of meaning that only the two will understand, and which will last till the end of time.

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A woman that is busy throwing up can clearly be heard through the bathroom door, while her husband is just lying cosy underneath the covers, he finding the entire thing kind of funny.

It is just past seven in the morning, and seeing as it is Sunday, the couple have planned to stay in bed the entire day, only getting out when they have to eat or go to the bathroom. They have selected a few movies to watch throughout the day, and also to fool around in between the movies, but now it seems that their lazy day may not be happening seeing as Alisia has been vomiting since the early morning hours.

A few cuss words can be heard before the flushing of the toilet is followed afterwards. After a while, Alisia emerges from the bathroom, hair all dishevelled as she leans against the door frame, looking beyond pissed.

“What kind of sick joke is the universe playing on me? I demand an answer!” Alisia exclaims while looking up towards the ceiling, Tala just sniggering at his wife.

“Maybe it is because you have played various sick jokes on numerous innocent people; maybe it is time to own up, baby.”

Alisia just glares at her husband, he just showing his white teeth as he broadens his smile.

“Oh, how I do wish that this is a stomach bug and that you will get it three times worse than me, and that it spews out at both ends. I want your ass to have a definite red ring around it as a result of spending all of your time on top of the shit house, BABY,” Alisia replies, emphasising on the word ‘baby’ with a sarcastic tone.

Alisia’s wish immediately results in Tala’s grin to vanish, leaving him pouting like a school girl.

“Aah, what’s the matter, my baby? Don’t tell me that you are afraid of a little old stomach bug, can it be that the all great Tala Ivanov is scared of a microscopic bug?”

Tala just crosses his arms in front of his chest, he not finding it funny anymore, “Just get in bed, woman, so that I can start holding you and make you feel better. I did promise through sickness and health, didn’t I?” 

Alisia just smiles at her husband, because even though he is pissed at her, he is still concerned over her and he is being very compassionate. She lifts herself from the door frame and walks to their bed and climbs in, where Tala immediately pulls her closer to him and holds her with his arms, she just leaning into the touch and into the natural warmth of her husband. She can already feel how she is starting to feel a bit better, although she still feels very nauseous.

“What do you think is wrong?” Tala asks in a soft and concerned voice, and places a gentle kiss on top of Alisia’s head after asking her the question.

A sigh can be heard from Alisia, “Maybe it is just a bug, but whatever is going on, it is really pissing me off.”

“If is not getting better by midday, I am taking you to a hospital, and no arguing.”

Another sigh comes from Alisia as she just replies with a ‘fine’ and then snuggles more into Tala’s hold, and soon enough she is fast asleep, Tala just listening to her soft breathing while wondering what is wrong with his wife.

It is already two months after the incident with Kai and Phantom, and up until now nothing has happened to Boris, but Kai has not said a word about it, and Tala knows that Kai is planning something big. If the redhead didn’t dislike the old man so much, he probably would have pitied the senile old fool for what is coming to him, whatever that may be. The only thing that Boris had received up until now is the decapitated head of Phantom, along with a dozen dead roses, and Tala can only imagine how furious the man had to be because there is no doubt that he had paid Phantom a lot of money because she is in such high demand. Luckily for Boris, he has not tried anything new on Kai or The Chernyy Feniks, and if Boris is wise, he will not try anything because if he had not succeeded up until now, then there is no way that he will ever succeed in the future.

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It is a beautiful day with nothing but the clear blue sky and the buzzing of life all around, just what Anastasia has ordered.

The said blonde is currently strolling around Red Square, just enjoying her day off. Bryan is gone for the day, making the blonde very curious on where Bryan always disappears to. It is definitely not to the bar where she had to meet him the first time, so where else?

Bryan has not shared a lot about himself to his student because he is overall a very private person and he will only share with her what he feels is needed to be shared.

Anastasia is just smiling at the people all around her, children dragging their parents along while giggling. The entire atmosphere in the area feels so warm despite it still being cold, but that does not seem to bother anyone. The area is also flooded with tourists, everyone just taking pictures of the magnificent view all around them.

Anastasia continues strolling through the people and she casually passes two high school girls who are holding onto a magazine and giggling like typical teenager girls. Anastasia does not pay them any heed at first, until her ears catches a single surname: Hiwatari. She stops dead in her tracks and listens in on the girls’ conversation.

“He is just so sexy!” the one squeals, while the other girl just giggles once more.

“I know! Just look at those brown eyes, and how he looks into the lens of the camera, it is like he is inviting us into his world!”

“I will join him anytime, in his world, in his house.....in his bed,” the last three words causing both girls to giggle even more, this angering Anastasia, not the giggling, but the fact that a snot head girl is thinking of sleeping with Kai. She can feel how rage is building up inside of her, it all being directed at the man that the two teenagers are currently drooling over.

“If only he was a bit younger, man, that would have been so cool.”

“I don’t care about his age; I like him just the way he is now, and you know, older men do have more experience, if you catch my saying, my dear friend.”

Another fit of giggles comes from the girls, this the breaking point for Anastasia. She immediately turns around and rips the magazine from the girls’ hands, while they exclaim ‘hey!’. Anastasia looks down at the magazine, her eyes meeting the brown eyes of Kai Hiwatari, it feeling like he is looking straight into her soul. She quickly scans the two pages, and it appears like an interview that was done with him.

“Hey lady, we were reading that!”

Anastasia acknowledges the girls, just glaring at them while still holding their magazine tight in her hands.

“You two should be in school, instead of hanging around in the streets and drool over grown men.”

“Ugh, excuse me, you are not our mothers, so back off, lady, and give me back our magazine.”

“Kai Hiwatari is dangerous, and the faster the world realises it, the more lives can be saved.”

The two girls just roll their eyes at Anastasia, not taking it seriously what Anastasia had just said.

Anastasia slams the magazine shut and sees on the front cover that it is some business magazine. She tosses the magazine at one of the girls and storms off, shaking off the rude names the two girls call after her.

She use to buy all types of magazines to see if it contained anything of Kai, but since her training had started with Bryan, she had forgotten all about that.

Anastasia rushes to the nearest shop that is selling magazines, and after purchasing it, she gets on her bike and races for her penthouse. There is no use in going back to the house because she does not want to be alone in it, especially not now.

The moment she gets inside of her penthouse, she tosses the magazine on top of her kitchen counter while getting herself a stiff drink, and a strong drink at that. After securing a drink in hand, she grabs the magazine and heads out to her balcony, the sounds of cars driving being heard down below.

She takes a seat, and also a huge sip, and then opens up the magazine at the page where the interview is, and once again, she cannot deny how handsome the killer is.

The picture is a close up of him, depicting his strong facial features, his strong jaw line, that unique hairstyle and colour, he having something of a small smirk on his face. For a few seconds Anastasia just gets entranced by his eyes, those beautiful brown eyes with a tint of caramel mixed with chocolate, his thick black eyelashes complimenting the colour and the shape of his eyes; her eyes travel down to his mouth, those kissable lips that looks smooth to the touch, and which appears to know how to kiss and please a woman, how to kiss her until her toes curl over from pure bliss; those few Air force blue coloured bangs hanging slightly in his face just compliments his entire face.

Anastasia shakes her head a few times to get out of her trance and although it takes a few seconds for her to get her mind focused, she does get focused and proceeds to read the interview.

**First off, congratulations with the launch of Hiwatari Medical Care, or as many have already dubbed it ‘HMC’. What had made you to venture into this field, seeing as your company’s focus is weaponry?**

Thank you for the congratulating of the launch, and to answer your question, it just came up to me one day while reading through a few financial statements. All this profit is made from building weapons that can harm so many people, so why can I not invest in something that can also help people, instead of just building weapons that brings destruction, and that is how it had come about.

**According to what has been made public by your company, you will build hospitals, and also medical machinery; what exactly will you be building, regarding the medical equipment?**

I have already met up with the best medical engineers in order to discuss the possibility of creating new equipment that has not been made yet seeing as the sufficient technology has not been developed yet. They will be working alongside my weapon specialists in order to develop ways in which they can fuse the technology together, seeing as the technology that is used in my weapons manufacturing is already ahead of its time.

**Can you maybe give us some clue about what you have already planned?**

Unfortunately not; you guys will have to wait and see just like everyone else. All I can say is that it will help the medical world immensely.

**Then I guess that we will just have to wait and see. It has been years since you have moved away from your grandfather’s lineage and had built a name for yourself, do you think that if your grandfather had still been alive today, that he also would have moved into this field?**

In all honesty, no, but he most definitely would have supported me because my grandfather always had a good head for a prosperous business, and he could always see deep into the future on whether a business will succeed or not, and that is why so many had trusted his input into their ideas. I know that this will be a success and I know that my grandfather would have supported me until the very end, and that he would have been proud of me.

**Staying on the subject of your grandfather, what has been the best advice that he has given you while you were growing up?**

The best advice that he gave me is that whenever I fall, only I have the right to make a choice on whether I want to get up or not, and also on how I want to get up. He had also taught me that I alone are in charge of what is going on in my life; if I want to surround myself with only bad and negative things, then that is what I will get because it is my choosing, the same goes with positive and good things. I am the only one that can walk the path of my life, no one else can do it for me, and that is advice that I use every day of my life.

**Russia knows you as ‘The Black Phoenix of Russia’, a name that has been given to you due to how many times you have managed to rise above your circumstances and be stronger than before; what is your secret to all of your success that you have obtained after the unfortunate death of your grandfather?**

I had an excellent teacher when I grew up, my grandfather; he had taught me from a very early age on how to excel and how to spot opportunities and how to stay strong because the Hiwatari bloodline has a strong fighting spirit that will always rise, no matter how many times it has been beaten down, and that I had experienced numerous times on my own. A Hiwatari will be down for a very short period of time before it comes back stronger, ready to take on an even bigger fight than the one before. The death of my grandfather had been a great loss to me but I knew that I will have to take my grandfather’s place much earlier than what had been planned, and that I will make him proud and also to show him that I have always listened to all that he has taught me. I owe all of my success to the Hiwatari bloodline and to my grandfather’s teachings and advice.

**Do you see yourself in this line of work until your old age?**

The business world is my life, my passion. I live for the thrill and it is my life force, so yes, I will do this type of work until I draw my last breath.

**Do you think that you will move into another field somewhere in the future, maybe into construction?**

Only time will tell; for now I just want to focus on making Hiwatari Medical Care just as successful as Hiwatari Enterprises, and also to ensure that Russia will be the leading country within the medical community.

**Alright; now onto our second last question which does not include the business world; for years there have been rumours going around that you are the head of the infamous Chernyy Feniks mob, seeing as you are known as the black phoenix of Russia; what are your thoughts on that?**

If that were the case, do you think that I would have been sitting here with you doing this interview? Of course not; I would either have been dead or in prison, and Hiwatari Enterprises would have been run by someone else, and there would not have been a Hiwatari Medical Care, and also, I did not name myself the black phoenix of Russia, so does that answer your question on the rumours?

At this Anastasia just snorts, “Of course you are the leader, you dumbass. Where there is smoke, there is fire,” she takes another sip from her drink and continues reading the last question of the interview.

**That most definitely puts all of the rumours to rest. And now for our very last question, also not business related, and this one is mostly for our female readers: is there a possible Mrs Hiwatari lurking about right now?**

In all honesty, there will not be one for a very long time. I do not have the time to start up a relationship with anyone right now, but who knows? Maybe somewhere in the future, but for now my work is my only relationship that is receiving all of my attention and all of my love right now.

**I am sure that a lot of ladies have just become very hopeful after your answer. I would like to thank you, Mr Hiwatari, for sparing a few minutes of your busy schedule to answer a few of our questions, and I wish you the all the best for your prosperous future.**

It was my pleasure, and thank you.

Anastasia calmly closes the magazine, leaning back into her chair while taking another sip from her drink which is almost finished. Her thoughts are all over the place right now, unable to focus on one specific thing.

‘I need to get out of here,’ is all she thinks to herself before going back inside to go and call her favourite cousin to see whether she wants to go grab something to eat.

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“Are you 210% sure about this, my love? This is Kai that we are talking about.”

Alisia just gently caresses her husband’s left cheek while smiling softly at him while slowly nodding her head a few times, “He is the perfect person, my dear sweet husband, and deep down you know that I am right.”

Tala just sighs, “You just know me too well. Alright, it is agreed then. When are we going to tell him?”

“It is still early so I am going to call him and invite him over for dinner tonight. I just wish we could have filmed the entire event, just to see his face.”

Tala just chuckles, “That would have been something that only happens once in a life time; there are only a few things that can take the wind out of his sails and this is most definitely going to overturn his boat completely,” both Ivanovs chuckle while Alisia takes her phone to make a phone call.

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Kai is busy reading through a business contract when his cell phone suddenly starts to ring, breaking his concentration, this immediately annoying the young business man. He takes hold of the phone and sees Alisia’s name on the screen, the annoyance disappearing at once, “Yes, Alisia?”

 _“If you have any plans on getting your balls wet tonight, cancel them; I want you at dinner at seven tonight_.”

“Good morning, Kai; how are you, Kai? Sorry for bothering you, Kai. Did your mother not teach you any manners, Alisia.”

 _“Oh please, go tweeze your ball hair or something. I want you at the house at seven, got it? There is something me and that red head friend of yours wants to tell you, and it is important, as in very important_ , _and for your information, oh wise one, my sweet mama did teach me manners; I just preferred not to be taught._ ”

Kai just rolls his eyes at Alisia as he can already see the blonde with a very self satisfied smirk on her face with that remark, “Fine,” Kai replies with a heavy sigh, “Anything that I have to bring along?”

 _“Just yourself; thanks for offering up your precious night of meaningless sex to hang out with us, it means so much to us,”_ Alisia says in a very sarcastic tone, Kai just rolling his eyes once more at Alisia and her rudeness, while also smirking at her.

“Anything else to annoy me with, Alisia?”

 _“Nope, just that. See you later, you holy virgin,”_ Alisia says, suddenly sounding very chirpy once more.

Just as Kai wants to make a remark to her after calling him a ‘holy virgin’, she hangs up, this leaving Kai ticked off, “I hate it when she always gets the last say.”

Placing the phone back on to his table, removing his reading glasses and retrieving a cigarette, Kai gets up to go and stand in front of his favourite window, lighting his cigarette and just looking out at the world around him, his thoughts being nowhere specific.

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Tala and Kai had just finished putting all of the dishes into the dishwasher, Alisia being in the dining room pouring them each a glass of juice. The two men know by now that cleaning up after dinner is their responsibility, seeing as Alisia always makes the food.

Kai and Tala take their seats at the dining table once more, Kai just eyeing his drink, finding it very strange that they are drinking juice, and then everything just clicks in his mind, “You’re pregnant,” is all he says, Alisia and Tala just smiling at him while taking each other’s hands.

A genuine, sincere and very rare smile filled with happiness appears on Kai’s face, his eyes also softening immensely upon the confirmation from his two friends.

“Yes, your sweet friend finally succeeded in knocking me up, but that is not all, Kai; we are expecting twins, the gender is still unknown because it is still too early. But the main reason of why we had called you is not only because of that, but something even more important. Kai,” Tala and Alisia look at each other before turning their attention back to Kai, both of them smiling at their best friend, “We want you to be the godfather of our two children.”

Saying that _that_ is something that he had expected would be a complete lie. Kai just looks at his two friends, that sincere smile now gone, his two friends just smirking at him right now, the two of them looking like two cunning teenagers right now, their eyes shining with mischief. There have been only a few times in his entire lifetime where he had been rendered speechless, but never quite like now.

“I.....I really.....what?”

“See, crazy loops, I told you that it will overturn his boat.”

Alisia just laughs, “And how I wish we had a camera to catch this moment. Remember to breath, Kai. You still remember how to do that, right?”

Kai still has no idea on how to respond to what the two had just said to him. How can he? Someone, an actual human being, or human beings, are trusting him enough to place the lives of their children into his hands, to take care of them should something happen to them one day. Do they not know him then? How can they even think of that; maybe it is a sick joke or something.

“Are you guys high or what?”

“What? Of course not, you idiot.”

“Then why? Have you forgotten what I am?”

“No, Kai, we have not, but you do not see what we see. You are the perfect person because with you, we know that our children will be safe, they will be taught the most valuable lessons in life, you will teach them how to be strong and how to succeed in life. You may not know this, Kai, but you will be an excellent father one day, I mean, just look at Tiger and Iris. Animals don’t love evil things, and your cats just absolutely adore you, as you adore them, and that is why we both know that you will be the perfect godfather to our children. So, what do you say?”

Kai never knew that his friends saw him that way, seeing him as a caring and responsible person. Maybe they are telling the truth; and anyway, there is no way Alisia would even have considered this if she knew that her children will be in any type of danger, so maybe he will be a good godfather to them. But it is not like he is going to take care of them right away. Tala and Alisia may very well live much longer than he will, and he probably won’t even have to play dad to the twins, so what harm can there be if he agrees to it? It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and he knows that he will love the twins very much when they are born, so it really does not sound so absurd anymore.

“Alright, I will be their godfather and I promise to be the best godfather ever.”

“Yes!” is all Alisia exclaims.

Kai gets up and embraces his two friends, he really being very happy for them on their pregnancy, and also that he is going to be their godfather. The three share a very emotional embrace with Alisia shedding tears like a very emotional woman, but neither of the two men feel the urge to tease her because now is not a time to tease anyone.

The nausea that Alisia had experienced some time ago had been due to her pregnancy. Tala was on his way to Slovakia when Alisia had sent him a picture with two buns in the over, he being very clueless at the beginning, but when he realised that his wife is expecting, and not just one, but two babies, he was over the moon. He jumped up and down within the jet, he being unable to contain his excitement.

The two had decided to remain quiet about the news for a while, and that Kai will be first one who they will share the news with. Alisia is already three months pregnant and she will be showing very soon. Luckily for her, the nausea had passed and so far the pregnancy is very easy for her, but there is still about six months left before her due date, so anything can change in that time.

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The various shareholders of Hiwatari Medical Care are gathering their various papers and documents as they have just completed their meeting within the main boardroom at Hiwatari Enterprises. The meeting was just to discuss the various stages of development that still needs to be done and if anyone wants to add to anything.

Kai remains seated at the head of the table, most of the members already out of the room. The only other occupant still at the table is the wife of one of the shareholders, Mrs Lomonosov, who is standing in for her husband who is away on business overseas, and he could not attend the meeting.

Mrs Lomonosov is 52 years old, although upon first look she appears to be a woman of about 36 years old. Her hair is completely grey but it suits her as it is the beautiful silver grey, along with black highlights within her hair, the highlights bringing out the colour of her eyes, a deep brown. No one can deny the fact that she is a very attractive woman, and that she really does take care of herself. She is dressed in a black stripped office pants, a parakeet green button up shirt, and no jacket; her hair is done up and she looks like the perfect business woman.

Kai is reading through a document when Mrs Lomonosov approaches him with a piece of paper.

“This is my address where I am staying at. I would appreciate it if you can come by at around eight tonight, there is something else that I would like to discuss.”

Kai just takes the paper and nods, slightly curious as to what she would like to discuss at that time of the night.

“Very well, Mr Hiwatari; I will see you then.”

“Good day to you, Mrs Lomonosov.”

The elder woman leaves the boardroom, Kai still wondering about their coming meeting.

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Kai climbs out of his car after being buzzed in by Mrs Lomonosov, she opening the front door while wearing only a deep purple silk evening gown, her hair hanging loosely over her shoulders, and smelling absolutely divine. This confuses Kai even more as to why she had wanted him to come over.

“Come in, Mr Hiwatari.”

Kai walks in and follows her to where she sits down at a large dining table, he following suit.

“I must admit, I am very curious as to why you had asked me to come over, Mrs Lomonosov.”

“Of course you are, sweetie. I love my dear husband very much, Mr Hiwatari, but unfortunately there are some areas where my husband cannot perform anymore, and unfortunately I am a woman that needs to be pleased as I am a very highly sexual woman. My husband knows that I entertain myself with other, younger men, but he pretends to not know of anything, knowing full well that I love him too much to leave him, and that I oversee this little fault of him. I am also not a woman who listens to gossip and I would rather work with facts after finding them out for myself, and I have heard various rumours of you, young Mr Hiwatari, rumours that you are an animal in bed after you have done a few lines of coke.”

Mrs Lomonosov proceeds to remove a small bag containing a white powder from within one of her pockets of her gown, holding it between two fingers for Kai to see, “Now, I want to see whether it is true or not.”

“You want to have sex with me? With all due respect, Mrs Lomonosov, although you are a very desirable woman and I do find you very attractive, your husband still remains one of my partners, and I doubt he will find it funny if his partner is having an affair with his wife.”

Mrs Lomonosov just chuckles at Kai, “Don’t worry about that, young Kai; we will not be having an affair,” she replies coyly while removing a long rectangular box from the other pocket of her gown and tosses it on to the table, “we will only do it until those are done, and I intend to have them all finished by Sunday night. No offence, young Kai, my little affairs only last for a weekend, and it happens very rarely that I will approach an old flame twice; this will be only a weekend fling.”

Kai glances at the box of condoms, the box containing 12 condoms, and she wants them finished by Sunday night, and it is already Friday night. Kai develops a sudden smirk, “I hope that you have enough coke because if you want to have that box finished by Sunday night, I am going to need a few grams.”

Mrs Lomonosov just grins at Kai and gets up, walking towards Kai and stops right in front of him, she just looking down at him and he looking up at her.

“So then, the rumours are true about you becoming a beast with coke in your system.”

Kai says nothing, and instead just takes the small bag from her hold, opening it to disperse the contents on to the top of the table. The elder woman hands him a credit card where he cuts four lines of the white powder.

“You will be glad to know that the coke is what your men sell, Mr Hiwatari.”

“Then you will be in for one hell of a ride, Mrs Lomonosov, and just for the record, I am already an animal in bed; the coke just turns me into a carnivorous beast.”

Mrs Lomonosov proceeds to give Kai a small glass pipe which he uses to snort the white powder with. Kai does two lines and she does the other two lines. The coke quickly comes into effect, Kai feeling how his member is quickly getting a life of its own. He pulls Mrs Lomonosov closer to him, she standing between his legs. With one hand, he opens up her gown, exposing her front side which is completely naked and toned, and he just has to smirk at her.

“You really know how to take care of yourself, Mrs Lomonosov.”

“I can’t have sex with other men when my body looks like crap.”

Kai places his hands on her hips, pulling her much closer to him, and without waiting a second longer, he takes her left breast into his mouth, sucking on her nipple, and then teases the pink bud by twirling his tongue around it. Her hands find their place in his hair, slightly tugging at it as the tingles of arousal courses through her body. Kai’s hands move down from her hips towards her ass where he squeezes them with a firm grip, while still continuing to suck and lick her left breast.

Kai abruptly stops and stands up, turning the elder woman against the table and pushing her down onto the table, his erection clearly visible in his black trousers. Kai bends down and captures her lips, the two starting to kiss passionately, Mrs Lomonosov undoing his pants to expose his erection through his boxers. Kai pulls away but keeps his lips close to hers, she feeling his heated breath on her lips, it weakening her whole body with desire and lust.

“I am going to make this a weekend that you will not forget soon. I am going to ride you so hard, you will still me feel inside of you for days after I am done with you, still feeling me thrust into you over and over again.”

She just moans out and grabs his head to kiss his lips, the two kissing more fiercely than before, both driven by the lust for each other. Within minutes, Kai has a condom on, pounding into the elder woman over and over again, she arching her back every time he thrusts into her, the top of the table becoming covered in her juices as it flows freely from her body.

Having cocaine in his system makes Kai uncontrollable and brutal in the sex department, he not caring whether he hurts a woman or not. He cannot think clearly and it is almost as if a sex demon takes over his body and mind, he losing all focus and grasp on reality of what is going on around him. Mrs Lomonosov wants to experience that dark side of Kai, and it is going to be experience that she will not forget any time soon. She will become very aroused every time she will think back to her weekend that she had spent with Kai, and he is going to make sure about that.

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Alisia’s baby bump is already in full view, and at five months she is already having a difficult time with being pregnant with the twins, her body and hormones being hammered, and indirectly, is Tala also being hammered as the poor man has to endure all of her hormonal our bursts and her being uncomfortable, and if that is not enough, he is also experiencing the symptoms on his own, the poor red head in emotional pain. He had always thought that it was a load of horseshit whenever he hears about how certain husbands experience everything that their pregnant wives are experiencing, but now he knows that it is not horse shit. So now is it not only Alisia’s shit that he has to tolerate, but also his own.

Neither of the two is certain on who wants this pregnancy to be over with, as it is really not as joyous as they had thought it would be.

Kai feels sorry for his two friends, but he always finds it very amusing at just how close the two really are, how connected they are that Tala also gets to experience the pregnancy with Alisia.

Despite both Ivanovs not being in the most upbeat of moods at the moment, the two did their best to dress up in their formal wear, Alisia looking like an angelic pregnant woman who is just glowing from happiness in her beautiful black gown, adorned with silver embroidery all along her sleeves and on the lower parts of her dress, with a slip that reaches her knee on the left side of her dress, her make-up, hair, jewellery and the rest of her accessories looking absolute perfect, her husband looking just as handsome in his black tuxedo.

Tonight is the third ‘Black Widow Russian Roulette’ event for the year, an event the two love birds secretly enjoys very much.

This event is a very, very secluded event and is either held in Moscow or in St Petersburg, it being in St Petersburg tonight. Guests are informed of the location only a day before the event, and only a select few guests gets invites to this exclusive and secretive event, usually those who have very deep and corrupt pockets, so it ranges from corrupt business men to mob members to even parliament members, as long as they have a huge bank account, is corrupt and knows how to keep a secret.

It is a game and as the name suggests, it involves Russian roulette, a game not many has the guts to play. 18 players are entered, each player being entered by a rich sponsor. In the first round all 18 must stand in a circle, each one being handed a gun, a revolver, where they are handed only one bullet. After spinning the cylinders of the gun for half a minute, they must cock their guns and point it at the heads of the persons that are standing in front of them, pulling the trigger. Those who are fortunate to be alive after the guns have been fired proceed to the next round where the remaining players each get two bullets to put in the cylinders.

The maximum amount of bullets that are to be handed to each player, are three bullets. The rounds depend on how many players are killed, but in the end it comes down to only two players left, the winner walking away with a lot of money, his sponsor as well; three lucky men, excluding the winner also gets a chance to walk away with some money, but it is only if they are lucky enough to win in the elimination round which does not include bullets.

Various bets are made on the players, and that is why only the rich are invited to this event. Alisia and Tala always bet on two players, each of them on their own one, and both have been lucky in the past to win large amounts of money.

Kai is also with them this evening, as he also enjoys this event. He has also entered a few players in the past, but unfortunately he has not reached the final, although there have been two very close calls. Now a day he just bets on the players. 

Kai, Tala and Alisia are very well known here as they always show up and they are not shy in spending money and also because many of the guests are affiliates of The Chernyy Feniks.

The event is never at the same location, this being because no one wants the authority involved or to suspect anything. There are usually not more than a hundred guests invited to this event, as the organisers have no desire to make it a huge event; they want to keep it small and eloquent, and that is why the guests have to wear formal wear.

Alisia is currently mingling with a few of the other women that she has come to know over time, they all just talking and gushing over babies and baby stories.

Tala and Kai are just standing together, each one with a drink in the hand and just looking at how the various guests are arriving.

Just then Tala notices a familiar set of hair, the hairs on his neck suddenly standing erect when he sees who it is.

“Boris is here,” is all Tala says to Kai, the young business man quickly looking into the direction of where Tala is looking at.

Kai can feel how his body is starting to boil on the inside, as anger and rage starts to build up inside of him, Tala quickly noticing this.

“Not here, Kai; we will be banned for life.”

“Don’t worry, Ivanov; I have something else planned for that old fart bag for what he has done to me. I will not do anything stupid tonight, you have my word.”

Tala just nods while he and Kai watches at how Boris smirks at them with that sadistic smirk Kai has come to know all too well. Kai starts to press hard on his glass when he realises that the old man is making his way towards him and Tala, that smirk of Boris not faltering once from his wrinkled face.

“Good evening, gentlemen. How are you doing this evening?”

“We were doing well until we spotted your wrinkled face, Boris. Why aren’t you dead yet?”

“Feisty, Tala; one would think that you would be more spontaneous since that beautiful wife of yours became pregnant,” Boris says slyly while looking into the direction of Alisia, his eyes shining with mischief before returning his attention back to Tala and Kai, “but maybe you are not so happy about becoming a father. Just say the word and I will gladly remove her from your care; I have been thinking of having a young wife of my own.”

“You low life.....”

“Tala, stop,” is all Kai says as he stops Tala from lunging at Boris, the old man doing his best to provoke the two young men right now.

“Wise decision, my friend; attacking me will be a very unwise thing to do right now.”

“Your threats don’t scare anyone, Boris; just leave us be and go and enjoy your night.”

“I will in a minute, young Kai. May I just say that you look healthy, I am almost envious. I have heard some rumours that there had been an attack on you of some sort.”

“Don’t play coy with me, Boris; you were the one who had organised it. Tell me, how is Phantom doing these days? Have you even found her body yet?” Kai now the one with a sadistic smirk, Boris’s smirk quickly being replaced with a sneer, his demeanour also having taken a complete turn.

“Just you wait, boy; I will have my day and I will be victorious, destroying you and everything that both you and that sad excuse of a human of a grandfather of yours had ever built and owned, mark my words.”

“And I will be waiting, Boris, ready to drive a knife right through your heart, slicing your throat, burning your body to ashes and then pissing on your ashes; you mark my words, old man.”

An almost growl like sound can be heard coming from Boris before he glares at Kai one last time with a raging look in his eyes before storming off, pushing a few of the guests out of his way.

“I don’t know how anyone could bring such a person into this world? He just makes it so easy for a person to loathe him.”

Kai says nothing to Tala, and instead just turns around, heading towards the bar to get another drink, something stronger so that he can calm down.

He has something horrible planned for Boris and it does not involve death; he is going to bring Boris to his knees and he is going to get him where it hurts the most. Unfortunately Kai will have to wait a while before he can take down Boris because he wants Boris to be at complete ease before he attacks, making the old bastard realise once and for all that he is and always will be inferior to Kai.

Kai remains standing at the bar, looking at how Tala hugs Alisia from behind, and happiness radiating from both of their faces, Kai also feeling the sudden happiness from his two friends. He may not have a family to kill for, but for those two he will take on the whole world just to ensure their safety. They really are his family, not by blood but by a bond much stronger, and no one should even dare threaten his family, like Boris had done just now. Just for that, Kai is going to enjoy his revenge even more.

Kai continues to drink his drink in silence a while longer, until the players and their sponsors finally arrive, the poor players all looking nervous as hell as none of them knows who is going to live or die. Kai gets another drink before joining Tala and Alisia, the betting having already started, and soon the game will start, and it is going to be a bloody event, all for the pleasure of the various guests.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Kai’s demise: Let the build up begin – Year 3 (Part I)

It is dark, cold and miserable, just like how it is most of the time in Moscow during the winter time, and yet, despite the cold and depressing weather, Moscow is still flooded with tourists from all over the world, all of them wanting a chance to experience the icy city with all of its beauty, whether it be its beauty in winter with the snow, or the green shrubbery in the warmer months. 

The icy city is a magical city all on its own, the various tourist attractions just adding to that special magic. Moscow is a beautiful city at any time of the day, and also at any time of the year. During the day, there are so many places to visit, places like The Ostankino Tower, or Saint Basil’s Cathedral which is very famous and often featured on various brochures of Moscow; there are so many museums and monasteries to visit. There is also Red Square where the Saint Basil’s Cathedral can be viewed from in all of its glory, and there is also Lubyanka Square. Those who are more night people can visit the various theatres all over the city, and the city alone with its skyscrapers are also breathtaking.

For any tourist who comes to visit Moscow it is an unbelievable and an unforgettable experience, but for those who live in the city it is not such an unbelievable experience, especially if you are on the wrong side of the law, or whoever makes the law, and it can especially be a horrible ordeal if one is one the wrong side of The Chenryy Feniks mob, as so many have come to learn by now, and what so many unfortunate people will still come to learn.

Kai is currently sitting in his office at the Feniks manor, a cigarette in one hand and his glass of vodka in front of him on his desk, metal music playing softly in the background. It is almost midnight and most of the people are already asleep seeing as it is a Wednesday night and most people are working tomorrow. Kai also has a military radio lying if front of him on his desk, one that he had obtained from his own company. What is the use of having a military manufacturing company if he never uses all of the cool toys that his company manufactures?

 _“Everything is in place, sir; all units are ready. Awaiting your next command,”_ is all that comes through on the radio.

A sly smirk develops around the corners of Kai’s mouth, his eyes showing what sinister thoughts are running through his mind at this very moment. He takes another deep drag from his cigarette and then a sip from his drink, before picking up the radio.

“All units, go,” is all he says, the sly smirk of him growing wider and wider until he starts to laugh, and it is not a laugh filled with love and happiness, no, it is an unsettling laugh that will send chills down anyone’s spine; it is a laugh that is filled with darkness and malice, the type of laughter a psychopath gives after he had just slaughtered an entire family and had enjoyed every second of it. There is no doubt that Kai is about to destroy someone’s world.

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Boris is sound asleep in his bed in his mansion, there only a few of his men walking around on his estate to monitor the entire area. Up until now they have not seen anything suspicious and are not really on high alert right now. It is like this at every property that Boris owns within Moscow, he has an adequate security system and also a dozen well trained security guards, and so far, it has been proven to keep all of his property protected against various thugs and other enemies of Boris, and that is why the old man can sleep peacefully every night without a worry in the world.

Two of his guards are standing at the front door, not conversing with each other and are just looking out at the front part of the estate. Just then they both hear something beside them, on the right side, it almost sounding like a beeping sound. The man standing nearest to it looks down and in between the dead plants he sees a small red light. He bends down to investigate more, but before he can see what it is exactly, a huge explosion takes place, killing both the man and his companion instantly, and in the process, also destroying the entire front door completely.

However, that is not the only explosion. All around the mansion, various huge explosions are suddenly going off, destroying everything around it. Boris immediately wakes up with the noise, two of his men rushing in to come and get him so that they can get him to safety.

“What is going on?!” the old man demands, he not even getting a chance to put on his robe. His robe and slippers are just grabbed on the run out of the room.

“We are under attack, sir! We have to leave now! It is all over!”

Boris runs out with his two men, the immense smell of burning objects invading his nostrils, while he can still hear various explosions going off all around him. He and his two men have to duck and dive a few times because of all the falling debris and even flying debris.

The screams of the wounded men is heard all over, a few dead bodies scattered throughout the mansion. Boris and his two men are trying to make their way to the garage so that they can get into a car and drive to safety, but as the three are making their way down the stairs, another explosion goes off right behind them, the force of the explosion causing all three men to fall down the stairs. Unfortunately, one of the men breaks his neck, killing him instantly. Boris and the remaining man stagger to their feet, trying their best to avoid the fires. By now the air within the mansion has become very toxic, Boris feeling it within his lungs of how the smoke is hurting his lungs.

He has no time to comprehend on what is currently happening, he being too focused on getting to safety. Another huge blast is heard coming from outside, the direction that it had taken place being unclear at this point.

Everything is in the flames, most of the mansion already being destroyed. What Boris does not know is that every vehicle on his property has already been destroyed, most of his men killed in the process, and still there are explosions going off all over the estate. It is like a huge bonfire as the flames reach into the night sky, the flames lighting up everything.

Boris finally reaches the outside of the mansion, he being utterly horrified upon seeing how everything that he has ever owned is gone just like that. He is already covered with dirt and blisters, his skin covered with black marks and his clothes torn at various places. His other rescuer has also succumbed to the flames, Boris not even bothering in helping the man. Boris sees that all of the cars are burning and that leaves him with only one way out: he has to run into the bushes, which, although they are not burning, is just as dangerous as the flames because if the fire is not going to kill him, the brutal icy temperatures will. He has no way to run to the front of his mansion, seeing as everything is covered in monstrous flames.

Looking at the bushes once more and then glancing back at his destroyed property, Boris makes up his mind and starts to run towards the bushes. His only mission now is to get to safety; he has to get to one of his other properties.

All over Moscow various buildings are currently burning, there being no way for the firemen to stop the raging flames, and all of the property that are currently up in flames belongs to Boris, but he is not aware of the horrible tragedy yet.

In front of the mansion that is currently up in flames, a few men are standing in their black suits, just watching at how everything and everyone is burning, and it is like that at all of Boris’ s other properties. Kai’s men are looking over it, making sure that everything burns to the ground and that there is no way to salvage anything.

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It has already been twenty minutes since Kai has made the order and he is beyond happy. He is currently standing on his patio at the Feniks manor, a glass of vodka in his hand, but at least this time Kai has a thick black trench coat on.

‘If you survive this, old man, you will know not to mess with me ever again. By trying to kill me, had been your very last strike, Boris. No one messes with Kai Hiwatari and gets to smile afterwards, no one.’

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It is just after three in the morning, the temperatures in Moscow far below freezing point, and luckily most people are sleeping cosy under their sheets within their heated homes, otherwise they would not have survived the brutality of this icy weather. 

Kai is one of the many people that are currently sleeping peacefully within a comfortable and cosy bed, his two cats sleeping along with him in his huge king size bed.

The young man is enjoying his sleep when his cell phone suddenly goes off, interrupting his peaceful sleep. Kai already starts to plan the person’s death that is on the other line, and he does not even bother to look at the name on the screen upon answering it, “What?!” is all he yells at the other person.

_“Kai, it’s me. It’s time.”_

Just hearing that voice saying those few words is all that it takes for Kai’s demeanour to change completely, all thoughts of killing gone from his mind in a flash.

“I’m on my way,” is all he replies, and then both speakers hang up.

Kai holds the phone while getting dressed in a flash, just throwing on his thickest tracksuit pants, a shirt and a jacket, rounding it off with black sneakers. He gives each cat a kiss on the head and races out of the room, running down the stairs and heading straight for the garage where he gets in his dodge charger. The tires screech as he reverses out of the garage; luckily he had opened the garage doors when he got in to his car. The pebbles in the drive way shoot in all directions as Kai speeds down his driveway, heading for the hospital.

Alisia has finally gone into labour and it had been Tala that had called him earlier; luckily Kai knows in which hospital Alisia will be at as the three friends have talked about it numerous times. Alisia has promised that she will cut off the main reason Kai can be classified as a man if he does not come and support her during the birth of her children, and the business mogul knows by now that Alisia does not make idle threats, and besides, there is no way that he is going to miss the birth of his godchildren. He may not be in the delivery room when they will be born, but at least he will be on the outside the moment they come into this world.

Kai races in the streets as if the devil himself is chasing him, running stop signs and red lights. He wants to meet the traffic officer that dares to write him a ticket. The only time that it will happen is if the traffic department has recruited a young boy and he has not been taught about who is the real boss in this city, and luckily for Kai, everyone is on his payroll as they have to help him transport his drugs and ammunition around the city and also out of the city.

Within no time Kai reaches the hospital, he hurriedly making his way towards the room that Alisia had booked a long time before hand. A few feet from the room, he can already hear the blonde haired woman yelling and screaming obscenities at her poor husband, this leaving Kai with a slight smirk on his face. Taking one deep breath, he opens the door, the sight greeting his eyes being one that can only come from a comedy movie. In one corner stands Tala, with his arms up as he tries to defend himself as Alisia throws him with ice blocks and anything else that she can reach to throw at her husband.

“This is all your fault, Ivanov! Never ever are you getting your balls wet by me again!”

“Yes, my love, and I am so sorry, my love, for causing you this much pain.”

Kai just shakes his head as he walks into the room, clearing his throat to let the two know that he has arrived.

Alisia just looks at him with a deep scowl on her face. Tala almost looks like he is about to cry with happiness when he looks into Kai’s eyes.

“You know, Alisia, technically it is not just Tala’s fault; it takes two people to make a baby.”

Just then Kai also has to duck as an ice block makes its way towards its head.

“Go choke on a pair of tits, you street mongrel!”

Kai just looks at her with a bored expression on his face, almost as if he is finding her boring.

“I think we have to talk outside, Kai. We will be right back, sweetie.”

“Just leave me the hell alone!”

Tala once again ducks for another ice block that comes towards him. Kai is the first to leave the room, Tala quickly shutting the door the moment he is out in the hallway.

“What is the deal with her?”

“Hormones and pain I guess, and it is just getting worse. Hopefully her labour won’t be too long; the doctor said that her contractions are happening faster. I mean, when we left home they were 8 minutes apart, and now they are already two minutes apart. It may be any moment now, dear God, I hope it is any moment now. My poor nerves can’t handle this trauma. I swear, after this I am getting myself snipped. There is no way in hell I am getting that.....that monstrosity pregnant again.”

Both Kai and Tala just chuckle at the last statement.

“But hey, Kai, thanks for being here.”

Kai places a hand on Tala’s shoulder as to assure him that he is going nowhere, “Thanks for wanting me to be a part of this, Tala; it really means a lot to me.”

“Hey, we wouldn’t want it any other way, and it may not look like it now, but Alisia pestered me to call you already, well, that was before she changed into that ........ that horrible thing right now,” Tala says while giving a nervous chuckle to which Kai just smirks at.

“Tala!”

“Dear Lord, what now?”

“After you,” is all Kai says while mockingly bowing for Tala to walk through the door first.

“Please rub my back, I am begging you!”

“Anything for you, my love.”

“And you, Hiwatari, make yourself useful and go and get me some more ice blocks.”

“Anything else, your majesty?”

“Ha ha, very funny, but just remember, Hiwatari, when these two brats are out, I am back to my old self, and then I am going to hurt you very painfully, mark my words,” the sly smile on her face an indication that she is dead serious.

Kai immediately drops his attitude, and in a dead tone asks where he can get more ice.

“Just ask the nurses, they will show you.”

“Hn.”

Kai takes the empty glass vase while he and Alisia just glare at each other, and then makes his way out of the room.

The hallways of the hospital are quiet, well, what else can one expect at this time in the morning? It is known as the graveyard shift after all by the medical staff. It is still early and many are still sleeping like their life is depending on it. Kai finally reaches the nurse station and as expected, the nurse has an extra friendly smile, more like a flirtatious smile as she explains to Kai where he can find the ice machine; she even offers to walk with him but Kai just kindly declines the offer. The last thing that he is in the mood for now is a horny nurse, maybe on another day he would have had her in a closet or linen room or something, but for now he is only focused on the birth of his two god children.

Kai finally reaches the ice machine and fills the vase full of ice cubes, and then slowly begins the journey back to Alisia’s room, the blue haired man taking his time in doing so because he is curious as to how she will react when he takes his time in bringing the ice. He is certain that were it Tala that had to collect the ice, he would have done it in record time; he may even have set a new record for sprinting.

Kai comes walking down the hall in which Alisia’s room is situated and as he slowly makes his way towards her room, three nurses run past him in a hurry, and soon a doctor follows them, Kai rather curious about what is going on, but the curiosity ends the moment he sees them burst into Alisia’s room, Kai also going into a sprint. He is just a few feet away from the room when he hears Alisia call for Tala in a panicked voice, Kai immediately becoming worried. He reaches the room but is not allowed in as the nurses come out with Alisia’s bed, the doctor right beside her, Tala following the little convey.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

Tala has tears in his eyes but also a smile as to indicate that the tears are not from sadness but from pure happiness.

“I am about to become a dad, Kai. Can you believe it?! I am going to be a father by the time the sun has risen. Alisia has dilated completely in the short time you were gone, so hopefully the delivery will also be so quick. They are moving her into the theatre now. Forget the ice and come on.”

“But....”

“Don’t worry, it will only be up to the door.”

Kai just smiles and starts to follow his friend until they reach the delivery room where Kai and Tala embrace each other tightly before the red head goes in to join his wife.

“I really need a smoke now,” is all Kai says while running his right hand through his hair.

He reaches for his cigarettes, he just proving to himself once more that he is a true smoker because during the entire rush he had managed to remember his box of cigarettes along with his lighter. He makes his way outside where Kai takes a seat in the blistering cold, and remains there until he finishes his smoking which is about three cigarettes, before making his way back inside and to the waiting area. By the time he takes his seat in the waiting area his hands are blue from the cold, but it does not bother him because at least he had gotten his nicotine fix.

“And now we wait; good luck, Alisia, please be safe when you get out of there, you and the babies,” Kai whispers to himself while picking up a magazine to read while he waits for the arrival of the babies.

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Kai is startled when someone gently shakes him by the shoulder, he immediately being pissed at himself for falling asleep, and also for the person who had just dared to wake him up. Kai looks up and looks directly into the eyes of an elder nurse as she softly smiles at him.

“Mr Hiwatari, you can go see your god children now if you want to.”

Kai says nothing and just gets up, while giving the nurse a single nod.

“They are on the third floor, room 27, and congratulations.”

Kai only replies with a smile before heading for the lift. All of a sudden he starts to become aware of the beat of his heart, and the breathing of his lungs; even his hands are starting to feel clammy.

‘I am actually nervous upon meeting them!’

Luckily for Kai he is alone in the elevator as he chuckles to himself about his nervousness.

‘They are just two little persons, two little strangers. I meet strangers every day of my life and I am never nervous, so why the hell now?’

The ding of the elevator indicates that he has arrived at the third floor, Kai almost certain that his heart has just stopped beating.

‘Breath you idiot!’ he scolds himself within his mind as he makes his way out of the elevator and down the hall. He looks at the sequence of the numbers and without asking for assistance, he quickly realises in which direction he has to walk in. Kai can see that it is already morning as he takes a glance through a window in one of the open rooms.

He finally finds the room and softly knocks before silently walking in, his eyes just going straight to the two babies, one in Tala’s arm and the other one in Alisia’s arm, the new parents just lighting up when they see Kai.

“Come in, god daddy.”

“Are you sure? Is it safe?”

Both Tala and Alisia just chuckles at Kai’s cautious demeanour, “Of course, silly. The pain is gone, so no more reason for me to want to murder any male that is in the vicinity. Come closer so that you can meet them.”

Kai slowly makes his way towards the bed and takes a seat at the foot of the bed and within in an instant, Tala hands their boy to Kai, Kai feeling how he suddenly becomes pale and weak while taking the little fragile infant into his arms.

“You drop my kid, you are dead.”

Kai does not even hear Tala’s idle threat as his eyes just stay on the baby that is currently in his arms.

“That’s our boy; do you want to hold our girl too?”

“Won’t it be difficult?”

“You have two arms, smartass, and besides, you are a strong guy, so you will be fine.”

Kai softly and gently stands up, holding the little boy in his left arm while taking the little girl in his right arm, and after making sure that he is holding them both securely in his arms, Kai walks away from the bed, his eyes just moving from one baby to the other.

Tala places a hand on Alisia’s shoulder and she takes hold of his hand, giving it a squeeze as they both look on at how Kai is acting like a normal human while holding their twins.

Kai has never felt emotions like these that he is feeling right now. If he is not careful, tears might start to flow from his eyes any second now. The two babies look so peaceful in his arms right now, and they are so small and fragile. How can one not love such a small person? How can mothers throw their children away, or sell them, or the worst of them all, get an abortion? He has never held a baby before, but he is actually glad that he has never had that chance otherwise he would not have had this special moment right now. He is holding two babies, THE two babies of his two best friends, and he already loves them so much, like they are his own. Kai can feel how his tears are collecting within the corners of his eyes and quickly blinks his eyes a few times, silently praying that Tala and Alisia has not noticed that he is about to piss through his eyes.

“Kai?”

Kai looks up from the babies and looks at Tala and Alisia, true and sincere happiness radiating from their eyes and faces.

“The girl is called Marushka Talia Ivanov; her second name is a mash up of Tala and my name, and the boy....”

“The boy is called Viktor Kai Ivanov.”

“Wha.....what?” Kai is not certain on whether he had just heard Tala correctly.

“Yes, my dear friend, our boy’s middle name is your name because me and Alisia both had felt that there is no better person to name him after; besides, we know that he is going to be a strong boy, so he needs strong names.”

“You two are on a mission to make me piss through my eyes, aren’t you?” Kai says in a choking voice, it clear that he is on the brink of starting to cry any moment now.

The new parents just laugh as Tala releases his hold on his wife and walks over to Kai to take his baby girl into his arms.

“It’s okay, big man; this is a safe place where grown men can weep like little boys.”

Kai tries to glare at Tala but fails miserably and just smiles again as the little boy in his arm stirs a bit, Kai once again feeling how his heart is about to burst with pride.

“You two had created life, it being the most beautiful miracle in life, in every living thing on this planet.”

“Now you are freaking me out, Kai. Are you having the baby blues?”

Kai just rolls his eyes at Alisia, but the smile just cannot stay away for long periods. Kai hands little Viktor back to his mother and retakes his seat at the foot of the bed.

“Thank you for making me a part of this experience; you guys have no idea what it means to me.”

“We wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, Kai; you are our brother and there is no way we would have allowed you to miss this....”

“even if it had meant that I should keep my legs closed until you have arrived, we would have ensured that you are a part of this miracle of ours.”

Kai once again stands up and embraces both Tala and Alisia, happiness still bubbling out of him. He will forever remember this day, and he will forever cherish it, until the day he dies.

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“For exactly how long are we going to stay at that godforsaken place that you are planning on taking me?”

“Three months, or is that too long, does it seem to take too much of your precious time?”

“Who’s biting your balls?”

Bryan just rolls his eyes at Anastasia, “Just pack what I told you to pack; I will be back by night time.”

“Fine.”

The blonde haired woman turns around to go upstairs while Bryan goes out to get into his truck and to leave for a while.

It is almost lunch time but there will be no eating lunch in this household as there are a lot of things that has to be done before they go their trip. Bryan and Anastasia are going away for three months where she is going to learn how to fight with various weapons and how to co-ordinate it into various fighting styles, and all of this they will be doing in a very isolated place, a cabin to be more specific, and it is situated about 500 miles north west from Moscow, deep inside of the woods.

Two of Bryan’s friends will also join them on the get away as Bryan wants Anastasia to learn how to fight against more than one person at the same time, and he also wants them to go there in the heart of the winter because Bryan wants Anastasia to build up a strong stamina and in his eyes there is no better way than facing the toughest weather.

They will be leaving very early the next morning so that they can reach the cabin at midday because there is going to be a lot of stuff to unpack because both Anastasia and Bryan are going to drive there with their own trucks, and the other two men are also going to drive with their own trucks, including trailers.

In all honesty, Anastasia is not very fond of the idea of spending three months in blistering cold with no civilisation around them for miles, and she is certain that there will be no modern facilities like warm water or electricity. It will literally be like going back to the stone age and she would much rather just stay in Moscow and do all of the stuff, but as the young woman has come to learn over the last two years, if Bryan has made up his mind about something, there is no changing it, no matter how much she nags and pesters him about it.

“Stubborn ass,” she mutters to herself as she starts taking all of her jackets from her closet.

“Does he have any idea how much shit a woman packs overall? And now we are going to the middle of nowhere. It is going to be ten times worse!”

Anastasia goes to stand right in front of her closet, placing her hands on her hips to look at all that she has to pack. Shirts, underwear, pants and that is only half of it. There are still her hair products, extra socks for the cold, and then it is still her night wear. She is going to have to pack every pair of pyjamas she owns because without a doubt there will be no inner heating in that cabin, maybe not even a heater due to the lack of the electricity.

“Well, there is going to be at least one heater,” she says to herself with a sly smile on her face, and just like that, her thoughts start to wander to the lavender haired man with whom she has been sharing her house with these last two years.

No matter how much she wants to deny it, she can’t, and it is becoming harder and harder to contain herself around Bryan. Anastasia is very attracted to the man, both emotionally, and physically, the physical part causing her to daydream more than she wants to. Every time he touches her body, she feels how her whole body goes numb, it does not matter if they are in the middle of a fight or not, her body just automatically reacts to his touch. It is like a chemical reaction, it just has to react because that is just how nature has designed it to be, and there is no fighting against it.

There had been so many opportunities where she had just wanted to tell Bryan how she feels but every time she is just about to make her confession, she chickens out because she has no idea of how he might react. In all honesty, she does not have the faintest idea about how he might react because Bryan has hardly expressed any type of emotion since she has known him. Anastasia is not even sure how he feels about her; does he just see her as a business deal or some irritating little pesky woman? He always disappears when they have an off day and she is sure that he goes to some woman to get rid of his frustrations, and it kind of hurts that he would much rather disappear than do something with her on their off day.

After that little incident of theirs that one night when Bruno got hit by the car, things had been awkward for a day or so, but after that, Bryan was back to his usual cold emotionless self, like it never happened, and Anastasia knows that he had also wanted to kiss her just as much as she had wanted to kiss him; his body language was practically yelling it! Anastasia can still remember his eyes, the hunger within those grey pools and how they lingered on her lips, and they were so close to kissing. Just a second or two longer and she would have been able to feel his full kissable lips on her own, but alas, luck was just not on her side.

One good thing of that night is that they had met Bruno, the dog that got hit by the car and whose leg got broken, although Bruno is not with them right now. He has returned to his owners who live down the street, but the owners have said that if she and Bryan want to come and visit him, they are welcome to do so any day, and that is why, every second Sunday afternoon, Anastasia and Bryan takes Bruno for a walk around the neighbourhood, and spend some time with the dog until night time.

The three of them always seem like a happy family, at least in Anastasia’s eyes it seems that way. Sometimes she just wishes that it was the case, that she and Bryan were in a relationship, and that Bruno was their animal child, but she knows that it is not going to become a reality anytime soon because she is almost certain that she is the only one who has developed feelings.

Maybe the three months away from everything and everyone may have its advantages, who knows?

“But I am not betting any money on that,” Anastasia mutters to herself, and after taking a deep sigh, she takes a seat on her bed where she starts to take her jackets off of the hangers so that she can start folding them.

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“Get up, kid; we should have been on the road already.”

Anastasia just groans and turns around, covering her head with her covers, Bryan finding it hard to not smirk at this, but she does not have to know this. Putting up a tough guy persona, he stomps over to her bed and pulls the covers off of her, throwing it on the ground, this action not sitting well with the blonde haired woman.

“What the hell?! I could have been naked under these covers!”

“Not my problem. Now get up and finish up so that we can leave.”

Anastasia turns to her alarm clock and her eyes go big when she sees that it is just past three AM.

“You inconsiderate cave man! Just look at the time!”

Bryan sighs with an almost bored attitude, not even caring of what she had just called him, “Just finish up before your coffee gets cold,” and before giving her a chance to respond he walks out of the room.

Anastasia is not happy at all; she knows that they were going to leave early but this is just beyond preposterous.

With a groan and a few obscenities, she practically drags herself out of the bed, heading for the bathroom first. She had luckily put out her clothes the previous evening that she is going to drive in today.

While putting on her clothes after finishing up in the bathroom, and being almost fully awake now, a very sudden and almost shocking thought comes up, “Bryan made coffee? Okay, I am not going anywhere with this stranger, something has happened to Bryan because he has never ever made me a cup of coffee! I have to see this with my own two eyes,” and just like that, she finishes in a flash, and after making sure that she has taken everything with her that she needs, she switches off the light and hurries down the stairs to go and see the coffee that Bryan had made.

But to her disappointment, it is coffee from a coffee shop, which just raises another question: at what time did this guy wake up seeing that he has driven to a shop for coffee?

Bryan comes back into the kitchen, he just looking at Anastasia with a bored look on his face, “I see you have finally decided to get your ass out of bed.”

“Don’t try me, Bryan; I am still pissed at the way you woke me, and also the time, but any way, at what time did you wake up to go and get coffee? You do know that we have everything here that is needed to make coffee.”

He just ignores her remark and question, and instead takes his cup from the take away tray while also handing Anastasia’s cup to her where the two proceed to drink their hot beverage in complete silence.

After finishing their coffee, Bryan takes both cups and goes to throw it in the trash can outside because he does not want any trash in the house seeing as they will be gone for a long time. Luckily for them, Bryan had decided that they should pack everything the previous evening to make up time.

After making sure that everything is closed and all of necessary plugs have been switched off, they get into their trucks, ready for the long road ahead, and finally they start to make their way through the neighbourhood, Anastasia feeling very envious of everyone who is still sleeping, cussing Bryan a few more times within her mind. He has told her that she should stay behind him at all times and that the other two guys will join them later on.

Soon the two are on the main road, heading to the cold isolated place which will be their living sanctuary for the next three months.

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Music is blaring over the speakers within Anastasia’s truck, she just singing along while bobbing her head along with the metal music. They have been on the road for about three hours now and the sun is slowly rising, it still remaining one of the most beautiful things that Anastasia has ever seen, and it will remain like that because in her opinion, every sunrise and sunset is different from the previous one. Her heater in her truck is also on full and at least it helps a lot. It is still just she and Bryan and there is still no sign of the other two guys, Grigory and Yurik. Luckily for Anastasia, she has already met them on a few occasions so it is not like she will be staying with two complete strangers, and she also likes them, well, Yurik more than Grigory because Yurik is like a child caught in a grown man’s body because he just wants to laugh and have a good time all the time; Grigory is more like Bryan, too serious for their own good.

Anastasia can see how frozen their surroundings are looking and she can already imagine how the cabin is going to look like.

“Bryan better be right about it building my stamina otherwise I am going to kill him instead of Hiwatari.”

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The four finally arrive at the cabin, it hidden deep within the frozen forest and it is nothing like Anastasia had pictured. She had a small cabin in her mind the whole time, like the ones that are always shown in the movies, but instead it is a double storey cabin and it seems very cosy on the inside. She is not sure how many rooms there are but she does not care.

Grigory and Yurik had joined her and Bryan just before they turned on to the deserted road, which alone had been about 90 miles long, and unfortunately they had to decrease their speed which worked on her nerves, but they are finally here. Anastasia gets out of her truck at the same time as the others and gives both Yurik and Grigory a tight hug.

“So, are you guys ready for this hell for a whole three months?”

“Please, three months is nothing, doll face; we have spent much longer than that in worse places than this. This is going to be paradise.”

Anastasia almost chokes when Yurik says that. How can anyone spend more than three months in a place worse than this? Maybe it is time that she gets out of her comfort bubble and starts seeing the deeper side of life, because it is clear that she hardly knows anything of life.

“So, who is sharing with.....?” Yurik not even getting a chance to finish his question before he is interrupted by Bryan.

“The kid is with me,” is all Bryan says without giving anyone a chance to say anything else. Anastasia just looks at Bryan, he avoiding her eyes as he turns back toward his truck to start unpacking.

“Share?”

“Yeah, this place may look big but there are only two rooms, but luckily there are two separate beds in each room, so there will be no spooning, well, at least not in our room,” Yurik says with a sly smile while looking at Anastasia, she seeing the mischief in his eyes, but she is completely clueless on what he had just meant by that, and both Yurik and Grigory notice this, the two men just looking at each other, their eyes doing all of the talking.

“Come on, Blondie, let’s get unpacked so that we can relax.”

“This is going to be an interesting three months,” Grigory softly says to Yurik, he just chuckling while nodding his head, while the two turn their attention back to Anastasia as she starts to remove her luggage from her truck.

The four of them spend the next four hours unpacking everything, including their clothes and all of the kitchen ware and necessary utensils and essentials. The various weapons are in the two trailers that are still connected to Yurik and Grigory’s trucks, and they will remain there for the time being.

The four are currently outside, Yurik and Grigory busy making a fire where they can just relax next to. All of them are dressed in proper winter wear, except Anastasia who is wearing double of everything, and she wishes that she can put on more, although she likes the snow that is all around them. Her inner child just wants to make snow balls and throw it at the men, her first victim being Bryan; she is just waiting for the opportune moment.

“I am going to get drinks,” Bryan announces after being sure that the fire is burning efficiently.

Anastasia waits for him to be a few feet away from them before she takes some snow and rolls it into a ball, and then tosses it right at Bryan, full force, it landing right behind his head, it causing him to stop dead in his tracks.

Everyone starts to laugh, Anastasia laughing the hardest.

“Oh shit; you better run, kid, if you value your life,” Yurik says through his laughter.

“Why?” is all she asks but she does not need an answer because the moment she looks into Bryan’s eyes, she realises that she is in very deep trouble.

“Oops,” is all Anastasia says before taking off, Bryan also taking off, he running after her as fast as he can. Anastasia has no idea where she is going as she dodges the branches and trees, all while hearing Bryan gaining up to her, and gaining very fast.

They are already some distance away from the cabin, and also out of sight, and Bryan finally catches up with Anastasia, tackling her from behind, both of them falling in to the snow. Bryan quickly collects his composure, flipping Anastasia onto her back and sitting on top of her, pinning her hands right above her head, she just chuckling at him.

Bryan looks down at the blonde, his urges returning once more, and it is becoming more frequent now a day, and it is also becoming much harder to keep himself in check whenever he is so close to Anastasia. He just looks into her eyes, the playfulness radiating from her eyes. He also notices how red her nose and cheeks are from the cold, but her lips.....those kissable and luring lips are still as perfect as always, and they are teasing him, the animalistic side of him beating and banging from the inside to be let out, but he can’t. But he wants to have her right now, here in this snow.

‘Get a grip, Bryan. Just stay in control. You can do this; you have been doing it for some time now, so just keep staying in control,’ he thinks to himself.

Anastasia just can’t stop chuckling at Bryan, but immediately stops the moment Bryan starts to smirk while looking down at her, it making her think of a predator that is about to devour its pray.

Bryan leans down to the right side of her right ear, his breathing heating up that small area of Anastasia’s skin, her heart suddenly doing very unusual things within her chest.

“Watch your back, kid, because I will declare war on you and then we will see whose snow balls causes the most damage,” is all he says in a deep huskily voice into her ear, this causing all of the alarms inside of Anastasia’s head to go off with lust.

Bryan releases his hold on her hands and gets up, holding both of his hands out for Anastasia to take hold of, and after she takes hold of his hands, he pulls her up with a great force, almost like yanking her up, on purpose, this causing her to bump right into his chest, she almost losing her balance were it not for Bryan who had placed his hands on her hips and holding them there. She places her hands on him, on his chest, and once again their eyes lock on each other’s eyes.

He wants to kiss her, his body is literally aching to do it.

She wants to kiss him, her body is crying to feel his lips against her own.

Bryan releases his hold on her as soon as he clears his throat, he breaking the eye contact between the two of them by stepping back.

“We should get back, kid.”

Being knocked out of her trance, she stumbles over her words, her heart hurting a bit because of his withdrawal.

“Err....yeah, sure....let’s go,” is all Anastasia manages to get out because her mind is a complete mess right now, all thanks to Bryan.

The two head back to the cabin, the walk back filled with nothing but silence, and some distance as the two are almost three feet away from each other.

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It is almost nine the evening, and the temperatures have dropped into the negative integers, and no one needs a thermostat to see it, because just the way Anastasia is shivering and complaining, is a clear indication of the temperature. Just minutes earlier, all four of them had sat in front of the fireplace in the living room, after having had a wonderful dinner that everyone had helped cooked. Anastasia was very surprised that the cabin had running water, hot running water, and not one of the three men could explain it to her because they also don’t know why. Yurik says the only theory that they could come up with was that the cabin’s pipes are connected to some geyser that is hidden somewhere within the forest.

Anastasia had been under the impression that the three friends had built it; turns out they had just discovered it by accident but it was in a very poor condition, except for the running water, so they all just pitched in to fix it up and they come here regularly, except for Bryan because he has been preoccupied with Anastasia. The blonde had enjoyed a proper hot shower but that is the only advanced thing within this cabin because there is no electricity so she cannot use her hairdryer, but luckily for her, her hair dried properly in front of the fire. The light in the cabin is being illuminated from paraffin lamps, the primitive lamps being all over the entire cabin.

Yurik and Grigory have already bid Bryan and Anastasia goodnight and went up to their room. Not long after, Bryan and his ‘student’ had also left the heat of the fireplace for an icy room that they will be sharing for the next three months, and right now, while Bryan is already comfortable under the covers in his bed with nothing but a pair of sweatpants on, Anastasia is standing next to her bed, dressed in a long night shirt and thick pair of wool pants, including thick wool socks, and she is shivering her ass off. Her covers are also much thicker than everyone else’s covers, it consisting of two duvets, one feather duvet, and two blankets, and usually it should keep anyone warm but the blonde haired woman thinks that it is still way too little for her to brace this weather with.

“How the hell am I supposed to sleep? When you guys fixed up this place, why didn’t one of geniuses think of putting a fire place in each room? That would have been way better, and way cosier than this ice box. You guys suck.”

“Just get into bed; once you get under the covers, your body will heat up and then it will be more bearable.”

“I seriously doubt it. And how the hell can you sleep without a shirt on? Did the cold burn your brain or what?”

Bryan just sighs while looking at the pouting young woman in front of him. She looks so beautiful in the dim light, and he is sure, if he does not go to sleep right now, he might do something that he will regret later on.

“Just get into bed, kid; I am turning off the lamp right now,” and without waiting another second, Bryan turns down the lamp, turning his back on the blonde with just a simple ‘night’.

“Hey, you big Neanderthal! I am not even in bed yet!”

Anastasia gets no response from her secret infatuation, the room dressed in complete darkness. Luckily she is already next to her bed so it will not be too difficult in getting in. After huffing like an infuriated old woman, she climbs in to her bed, the sudden coldness stabbing her like a million small nails into her skin, the amount of covers not helping one bit. Bryan had told her that she has to brace the cold and that it is just for her own good.

‘Own good my ass! What good is it if I turn into a human icicle? May my death rest on your conscious, Bryan.’

No matter how she turns, she just cannot manage to get comfortable, or warm. The feather duvet is suppose to be a good heat insulation object, but clearly that only works for cities, definitely not somewhere in God only knows where. She is sure that her skin is covered in goose pimples, and if she does not stop shaking anytime soon, her teeth will break into hundreds of pieces.

Bryan listens to how Anastasia constantly turns, the jittering of her teeth being heard clearly. He feels sorry for her, maybe it had not been such a good idea to come in this cold time, maybe she is not strong enough for this brutal weather.

‘Maybe she should just go sleep in front of the fire place so that she can heat up, or....’

Bryan stiffens at his sudden thought, but also likes it way better than allowing her to sleep alone down stairs. He wanted to share a room with her for a reason, so that he can be close to her, and he doubts she would think strangely of him in anyway, he is just going to help her get warm, and no one can deny the fact that body heat is the best heat there is.

After taking a silent deep breath to calm his nerves for what he is about to do, Bryan gets out of bed and walks to Anastasia’s bed, pulling back the covers and climbing in next to her. He lies down and takes her in to his arms, pulling her close to him, and he is surprised that there is no comment coming from the cheeky blonde. Maybe she is just too shocked, but to his surprise, she moves closer to him, it causing his heart to go completely out of control.

“This is just for tonight, kid; tomorrow night you are all on your own.”

Bryan feels the blonde nod her head, she moving even closer to him, almost like she wants to climb underneath him.

To say that she is shocked will be an understatement, but Anastasia is so grateful for Bryan; who knew that he can be so compassionate. It takes only a minute or two before she relaxes completely, the heat coming off of Bryan’s body acting like a very strong sedative, and just like that, a deep sleep overtakes her, she being too tired to go all giddy about the fact that Bryan is holding her tightly in his arms and against his body.

Bryan is lying on his left side, his arms encircling the blonde, and after making sure that she is comfortable and asleep, sleep also overtakes him, he also finding the comfort of her in his arms a strong sedative.

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The wind is howling like a beast over the icy landscape, it sharpening its teeth on the snow, its claws slicing through everything that comes in its path. The beast can kill any living thing that comes in its way right now, showing no mercy for its victim. The destruction will most definitely be visible in the morning, and hopefully the beast would have gone and rested somewhere where it cannot hurt anyone or anything.

Anastasia has been awake for a while now, the howling of the wind outside making it impossible for her to sleep; at least she is not cold anymore. She and Bryan is still in the same position as they had fallen asleep in, the blonde only realising now what is really happening: she is sleeping in Bryan’s arms, actually being held in his arms, their bodies are touching and it is not in a fighting stance, it is in a more personal touching way, somewhat intimate.

She can feel his somewhat gentle breathing on the top of her head, it constantly heating that certain section and she can hear it, that faint sound, and yet that faint sound is sounding manlier than some men will ever be in their entire lives. Her body is moving along with his body, as he inhales and exhales, his toned muscles slightly flexing with each movement. It almost feels like their bodies are fitting perfectly, like this is how they belong. If only she also had no shirt on, then she could have felt his naked skin against her own, her breasts pressing against those firm muscles of his.....

Suddenly Anastasia is finding her heart doing very funny things once again, and if she does not get it under control right now, Bryan might be able to feel her heart beat against his skin, and Lord knows what he then might think of her.

‘Think woman! Get your head out of the gutter for like the millionth time now and think horrible thoughts. Think of your family, think of the wind, just do something!’

The wind starts to pick up speed and a branch hits against the window, not loud enough to cause any damage or to wake anyone from their sleep, but enough for Anastasia to freak out, and it was just the right kind of distraction that she needed to stop her erotic thoughts of Bryan.

She slightly lifts her head, trying her best not to wake Bryan up in the process. She looks at the window that is situated next to the door, and then tilts her head upward to look at the window that is situated at the head of the two beds inside the room, and just then she feels a light tug, indicating that Bryan is awake.

“Sleep,” is all he mutters to her.

“I can’t; the wind is freaking me out. It is howling like it is busy transforming into some beast or something freaky.”

“You don’t seem to realise that you need all the sleep that you can get, now sleep.”

Anastasia just sighs once more before she makes herself comfortable in Bryan’s arms again, he still holding her tight against him.

Again another branch hits against the one window, this time a bit harder, causing Anastasia to suddenly flinch because of the sudden hit against the window.

“That’s it; I can’t sleep. Sorry, Bryan, but I am taking your bed for the remainder of the night,” Anastasia says while getting out of Bryan’s hold but before she can sit up to climb over the big man, he yanks her back until her head is flat on her pillow, she lying on her right side, his right hand slightly grasping her left upper arm.

“You are not going anywhere,” the finality of the order very clear in his tone of voice, Anastasia startled on his somewhat harsh order.

The two are lying face to face, and yet they cannot see each other’s faces. The silence between the two should be awkward, and yet it is not.

Bryan removes his hand from her upper arm and softly cups her cheek, his thumb slowly stroking it, and as if it is a reflex, Anastasia leans into his touch, her eyes closing on their own accord.

Bryan has no idea what has made him do this but he might as well continue with whatever his body wants to do; he is going to ignore his mind, and let his heart and soul make the decisions, because it may just turn into something remarkable, something that he has been wanting for a while now.

By following her breathing in the dark to pinpoint her lips, Bryan slowly lifts his head and leans closer to Anastasia, finally taking hold of those sensual lips that he has been yearning for, those lips that has been causing a burning sensation throughout his veins, those lips that has been haunting his thoughts every day, and those lips that has been stalking his dreams every night. And just like that, Bryan pulls away, but he keeps his forehead pressed softly against Anastasia’s forehead, she also leaning into it.

It was just a simple kiss, a single kiss, and yet it was filled with so much passion and emotions; not one of them can deny just how toxic the kiss had been.

Deciding that he wants more, so much more, Bryan decides to take another chance and this time he wants to deepen the kiss, and so Bryan goes in for another kiss, but this time it is longer and more courageous, as his lips starts to move against Anastasia’s lips, and to his amazement, she returns it, her hand also finding his exposed cheek and cupping it.

The kiss deepens with each movement, they changing the angles of their heads expertly as their lips continue to move against each other, the hunger augmenting with each passing second.

Who ever knew that kissing can make one so vivacious, being alive suddenly getting an entire new meaning. Their thoughts are such a mess right now, both will have to take a minute if they want to get some perspective right now, but then again, do they want to think of what is happening? Won’t thinking just spoil this entire ordeal right now?

Making another courageous move, Bryan removes his hand from her cheek, moving it down to her shoulder where he lightly pushes Anastasia down on to her back, he lifting his upper body in the process, their kissing not missing one beat. Anastasia continues to turn until she is completely on her backside, both of her hands having found Bryan’s hips, her thumbs resting just above the elastic band of Bryan’s sweatpants, her thumbs softly stroking the area of the exposed skin that her thumbs are on. Bryan lifts his upper body, his arms perching him up as his hands rests on either side of Anastasia’s head, his lower body resting on Anastasia’s lower body, and in this new position, the kissing between the two intensifies, and this time their tongues find each other’s mouth, exploring every inch of each other’s inner cavern.

Suddenly it seems like time has stopped altogether, like everything around them has seized to exist, and that it is just the two of them in this living space. In this living space they do not need food to live, they do not need water or any type of shelter; they just need each other in order to exist. Their bodies are speaking a language that only they can understand, every touch, every sound, every emotion responds to the language of their bodies. Passion cannot describe what is happening between these two people right now, both of them broken on the inside about the tragedies that had struck them, and even though they are broken, their actions do not depict it. Instead, it depicts two persons that are pining for each other, and that they have been pining for some time, and now they finally have the chance to show each other the feelings that they have had to suppress for so long now. They don’t need, and also don’t want anything else right now, only each other and the feel and touch of one another.

However, certain things are needed in order to continue their existence, things like much needed air for they have been kissing so intensely for some time now, that both of them are in dire need of oxygen, but Bryan does not want his lips to leave her, so he just breaks the kiss from her lips, and moves his kisses down her skin, doing it slowly and sensually while he gets in some well deserved oxygen, taking in every inch of her skin, his lips memorising her taste and feel of her skin on them; it feeling so soft, the best silk in the world not coming close to this feel. He can hear her soft heaving and it is music to his ears, Bryan never knowing that a woman’s heaving could sound so sensual, so virtuous, it making his soul burn with a burning desire that he did not even know can happen to him.

His kisses move down her chin, all along her jaw line, finally finding its way down her neck, Anastasia slightly tilting her head to the other side so that her neck is exposed a little more for Bryan to kiss it. Her hands move away from his hips, moving up his back where they stop midway on his back, her fingers pressing into his skin in an erotic way, Bryan grunting in pleasure by this touch.

Anastasia is slightly heaving, her mouth feeling like it wants to go dry any moment, the assault on her body too much too handle right now, and yet, there is no way that she wants it to stop. She can feel her mind, body and soul slipping into an unknown dimension where there is nothing but this pure euphoria. Every kiss from Bryan on her skin is an assault that just sends her deeper into this dimension, she slipping more and more away from the reality that is all around her. She has been wanting this for a long time now, but never had it crossed her mind that he can drive her so crazy with just his lips; how they move on her skin, no words in any language will be able to describe this feeling because what is transpiring here, right now, will never be able to be described with mere words.

How is it possible that this somewhat cold man, this strict and almost emotionless man can drive her senses into overdrive, wanting to make her toes curl over from desire, causing her spine to experience a tingling sensation all over, again and again, causing her arms and legs to feel like they might go numb any moment from arousal? How the hell can Bryan be such a passionate man when he always appears so cold, always looking like he might turn into stone on the first sign or touch of emotions that might be expressed his way? Just the touch of his lips on her skin is enough to turn her into putty, for him to do with whatever he wants to do, without any objections from her side.

If only Bryan can look into her eyes right now, those precious and unique green eyes of her. His soul wants more and more, it is aching for more of this vivaciously blonde that is lying beneath him right now. He wants to explore every inch of her skin, he wants to caress every part of her body, to trail kisses all over her body while taking in her taste, saving it within his heart, mind and body for an eternity.

Once more their lips find each other, this time with more burning passion and hunger for one another, their lips and tongues searching for each other desperately, moving against each other as if giving life to the other. As if acting on its own accord, Bryan’s right hand leaves the side of Anastasia’s head and slowly trails down her night shirt on the left side of her body, he taking in the sensual curves of her body, his hand finally stopping at her hip, his thump lifting the hem of her shirt a little so that her skin is slightly exposed, his thumb stroking the exposed skin, as the passionate kissing continues between the two.

And so the kissing continues, it quickly becoming very heated underneath the covers, even though their upper bodies are already uncovered from the shelter of the covers of the bed. Bryan’s hand starts to move deeper underneath her shirt, slowly making its way up all along her left side until it stops at her diaphragm, his thumb once again stroking her skin, but this time with a deeper touch into her skin, almost like massaging that certain spot. However, by doing this action, Anastasia’s body arches up a little more, pressing into Bryan’s upper body; apparently he seems to have touched a sensitive spot of hers, one she did not even know she had.

Once again Bryan breaks the kiss, his lips moving down her chin but this time down her left side; previously it had been down her right side. He moves sensually all along her jaw line, and this time he also nibbles on her ear lobe, licking her ear very seductively, this resulting in Anastasia to dig her fingers even deeper into Bryan’s back, her back arching up once more, her head pressing deeper into the pillow while giving a soft moan.

‘Another soft spot,’ Bryan thinks to himself while smiling before sucking on her lobe a little more, while Anastasia continues to react to his touch.

To his surprise, Anastasia wraps her legs around his waist after removing it from underneath his lower body, her legs tightening around his waist as his playful assault on her earlobe continues. Her fingers continue to dig into his back, only relaxing the moment when he pulls away from her neck, trailing his kisses down her neck until he reaches her collar bone. He kisses this area some more before moving his kisses to the centre of her neck, and upwards once more, and just as he is about to reclaim Anastasia’s lips once more, she stops him.

“Bryan,” she says in a very seductive, yet soft, and huskily voice, “put your hands on me,” and as to emphasise on what she means, she places her left hand on his right hand and moves it up to her left breast, and without saying anything else, she claims Bryan’s lips this time, the lust coming through her lips. Bryan keeps his hand on her left breast, softly massaging it while Anastasia moans into his mouth, both of her hands once more on his back, her fingers dragging all along his back in a seductive way, she taking in the movement of Bryan’s muscles flexing underneath her touch with every move his body makes.

The kissing proceeds for another few minutes until Bryan stops and proceeds to sit up straight, sitting on his knees with Anastasia now having her legs perched up on the bed, her feet flat on the bed and her legs bent at the knees, while he is sitting between them, Bryan wishing that there could have been light in their room right now so that he can just look down at Anastasia right now. He takes the bottom part of her night shirt and slowly starts to move it up but stops right beneath her breasts. He leans down and starts to kiss her stomach, as his hands massages the sides of her body. He is going to take his time in pleasing Anastasia and hopefully, through his movements, he will be able to fully express how he feels about her.

As Bryan kisses her stomach, Anastasia plays with his hair, enjoying everything that Bryan is doing to her right now. Only one thought is circling her mind right now: will they go all the way? Quite frankly, it does not matter to her right now because what she is experiencing with him right now feels so good, so right. However, a very small, as in very, very small part of her is almost certain that sex will ruin it all, but hey, it will also be an added bonus if they do end up doing it; she will most definitely not complain about it.

Bryan’s tongue is moving expertly all over her exposed skin, his thumbs extending over her stomach, also stroking it as he slowly licks and kisses all over the skin.

For a few seconds he stops the touch of his lips and tongue on her skin, his massaging also seizing, all so that he can lower the elastic band of her pants, until her bikini line is exposed. Placing his hands on her loins, he leans down, kissing her once more but this time, he kisses deeper, his thumbs stroking her loins, Anastasia feeling how a pulsing sensation is taking place between her legs, it without a doubt being because she is becoming very aroused at the moment. Bryan continues to nip on her skin and then licking it afterwards, his tongue moving in circular movements, whilst his thumbs continue with their stroking of her loins.

The brutal wind outside and the blistering cold is long forgotten for Anastasia, Bryan has made sure of that. For a good few minutes he pleases both her bikini line and her stomach area, but now he is going to go a step further. He sits up once more, pulling Anastasia up in the process after telling her to give her hands to him, and then places her arms around his neck, the two kissing once more whilst being in this position, as Bryan pulls her night shirt up higher and higher, the kissing being broken for a split second while he pulls it over her head, discarding the night shirt onto the floor, the piece of material forgotten for now, the kissing resuming between the two, but this time their upper bodies are completely naked, Bryan encircling Anastasia with his arms, pulling her up against him, feeling her naked breasts press against him, he giving a pleasure filled grunt because of this.

Anastasia pulls herself up so that she can sit on Bryan’s lap, ensuring that they are completely pressed against each other, and in this new position, she can feel his arousal between her legs, noticing that he is very well endowed down there, if she can go by the large bulge that is pressing against her.

Once again the kissing commences for a proper time before Bryan lowers Anastasia down on to her back, wasting no time in going to her breasts, starting with the left one where he starts his sucking on her perked and hardened nipple, the blonde arching her back once more as she takes hold of his hair with both of her hands in a rather firm grip, but not enough to cause him any form discomfort or pain.

Bryan can feel how his carnal side is trying to break through, it wanting him to rip of her last pieces of clothing and claim her right here, right now, but that is the last thing Bryan wants now. He does not want to have sex with her, no, he wants to enjoy her body, enjoy how her skin feels against his own, how her body reacts to his every touch, and besides, sex will just ruin everything. Sex does not show one’s true feelings for another because sex is just a carnal thing, an animalistic thing that is driven mostly by lust, nothing more. Lust is not the main emotion that he is feeling right now; lust is the very last emotion on his mind right now, although certain areas of his body may indicate otherwise.

Bryan softly kneads her left breast while still playing with the hardened nipple within his mouth, his tongue licking it, occasionally sucking it and nibbling on it, while being aware of how Anastasia is playing with his hair as her body continues to react to his touch on her perfectly formed breasts, they fitting perfectly in his hands.

He continues his gentle sucking and caressing of her left breast for some time before proceeding to her right breast, he repeating the movements once more, enjoying himself even more as he has finally come to be at a complete ease with himself while taking her breasts in both his mouth and hands.

Anastasia can feel how her sacred place is taking a life of its own, it throbbing and pulsing from arousal, it craving and aching to consume Bryan’s arousal, feeling it move within itself, taking all of it, but her heart and mind does not want that, they want to continue with the way things are going now, this sensual ride that Bryan has taken her on, and that he is still taking her on. It is mind blowing, indescribable and she can just be lost in this moment forever and ever.

He is so gentle with her breasts, he clearly putting in the effort of pleasing her, which once again conjures the question: how can a guy like Bryan be so affectionate and so caring, his gentle touches completely overshadowing of what she knows about him? If she did not know any better, she would have sworn that this is a different man, a man that is the complete opposite of Bryan. Her heart is racing with a sea of different emotions, all of them giving a new life to her, a life filled with happiness, it almost sealing all of the many breaks within her heart and soul, every touch and kiss from Bryan making her whole once more, little by little.

Bryan stops his caressing and kissing on Anastasia’s breasts, he lifting his head a little, once again wishing that he could have seen her right now. He can hear her soft heaving, feeling her chest rise and fall as she heaves, and her hands feeling warm to the touch as they are resting on his shoulders. As if it is second nature by now, he once again takes her lips, Anastasia immediately returning the hunger filled kissing, her arms wrapping around his neck as Bryan lowers himself completely on top of Anastasia, their bodies starting to move in a slow grinding motion.

The friction being caused between their bodies as their bodies are moving up and down are causing their bodies to heat up, the body heat that is being radiated from them heating up the entire bed area, Bryan being the first to feel the immense heat, it almost to the point of making him a bit uncomfortable. He does not want to do it but he has to, and so, once more he breaks the intense kissing between him and Anastasia, sitting up once more.

His hands make their way down her body until they reach the elastic band of her pants, Bryan starting to pull it down slowly, Anastasia lifting her hips as to comply to his request, Bryan slipping it down her legs, feeling her toned legs that she has obtained through her vigorous training, Anastasia biting down on her lower lip as she feels Bryan’s warm hands touch her legs as they slowly move down her legs, undressing her until she is only laying in her panty, almost completely vulnerable in front of Bryan right now; if only there was some sort of illumination in the room right now.

After removing her pants completely, and also discarding the piece of clothing to the floor, Bryan realises that now he has new exposed skin that he can kiss and touch, and he does not wait a second longer before taking her right foot in both of his hands, removing the socks and starting to kiss the top of her foot, sensually and seductively, slowly making his way up her leg.

Anastasia once again arches her upper body, this time pulling on her own hair as she bites harder on her lower lip, almost to the point of it becoming painful, while pressing her head back into the pillow, the moaning of her almost sounding like that of a woman that is on the brink of climaxing.

Bryan’s eyes are closed as he listens to Anastasia moan, feeling how her body reacts once more to his touch as he places sensual and meaningful kisses on her skin while his hands stroke her skin in a loving and a seductive way. She is a woman that deserves nothing but the best in the world, and if only he could get a chance to heal her wounds, to take away her pain from the loss of her family, to show her what she is really worth and what a remarkable woman she is, he would show her it every day, and he would make it his mission in life to make her happy in the way she deserves.

He may not have known her before the murders of her family, but if she was anything like he has seen over the time that they have known each other, he is certain that she was a one of a kind person, shining with a light equal to that of the sun, bringing life to any dark and deserted place, and he would like nothing more for her to be happy once more, to be the person that he is certain she once was.

Her natural scent is tingling his nostrils, but in a good way, her natural scent having an almost sweet scent to it, but not that nauseating sweetness, but instead that sweetness that one simply cannot get enough of, Bryan already having memorised the scent of her in his mind and heart.

Bryan reaches Anastasia’s upper leg, and slowly starts to knead her upper leg whilst still caressing it with his sensual kisses, Anastasia calling his name in a huskily voice, the blonde not even realising that she had just done that. Her mind really cannot focus right now and her mouth is speaking whatever her body is telling it to speak, and right now her body is solely reacting to Bryan’s intoxicating touch.

Hearing her say his name in that tone of voice just made his heart skip a few beats, the tone in which she has said it, Anastasia sounding like a woman in dire need of the touch of her lover, almost like her very existence is depending on it, and it fills him with pride knowing that she had called him in that type of tone, no one else. He does not care about how many lovers she has had before him, right now he wants to be her last one, the last man to ever touch her in this passionate way, the last man to make her feel like a real woman, the last man that she will experience intimacy like this with.

Bryan’s kisses stop right below where the linen of her panty is, he proceeding to her left leg, once again starting at her foot after removing her sock. Anastasia can feel how dry the inside of her throat is becoming from pure arousal, the assault on her body really feeling like it is almost becoming too much. Is that even possible? Can a person have some type of seizure, or even die, from too much pleasure? It sure feels like that right now for the feisty blonde.

The toxic kisses continue their trail all along her leg, slowly, while those big strong and warm hands caress her skin in a way only Bryan can manage, and as his touch with his hands and lips move up her leg until they reach just below her panty once more, Anastasia can feel how her heart is racing more and more, once again making her wonder on whether one can actually die from too much pleasure by getting a heart attack? By now she has released the grip on her hair and instead has taken the linen into her hold, she clutching it so tight that she may draw blood any second now if she does not release some of the pressure within her grasp. 

Bryan starts to kiss her bikini line once more after positioning himself in between Anastasia’s legs. He licks her bikini line in a teasingly way, as she pulls his hair before he ceases his licking and skips her stomach completely because he just wants to taste her lips once more, and right now the two are once more engaged in another hot and steamy kissing session, Anastasia having her arms wrapped securely around Bryan’s neck while his hands are roaming her body, the covers lying in a forgotten bundle on the far end of the bed.

Bryan still has his sweatpants on and Anastasia wants them gone as soon as possible because she also wants to feel his almost naked body against her own. 

“Bryan,” she says after stopping in kissing him, their lips barely touching each other right now.

“Yeah?”

“Loose the pants,” is all she says to him before pulling his head down and kissing him deeply before pushing him back completely for him to remove his pants. He does as she had commanded and Bryan wastes no time in removing it, and after discarding them, he resumes his place between her legs, lips on lips, his hands roaming her almost naked body, he grunting as she moans into his mouth as he roams and touches all of her sensitive spots.

Without any one of them planning it, Bryan lowers himself completely on to Anastasia, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist, his erection pressing against her lady bits, the head of his arousal precisely positioned at her entrance, only their underwear preventing them from doing the deed right now. Their bodies automatically start to move against each other until they are in perfect sync with each other, the kissing having intensified immensely, their bodies feeling like they have been made for each other as they just fit so perfect together. They want to pull away for oxygen but neither of them can bring themselves to do it.

Anastasia has her arms wrapped in such a tight manner around Bryan that she seems like someone who might fall thousands of feet should they let go right now. Bryan has also managed to wrap his arms around Anastasia’s body. The two start to roll around without them even realising it, that intense kissing showing no sign of coming to a halt anytime soon. Anastasia is on top, her hair cascading over her and Bryan’s faces, the pony tail having coming undone somewhere throughout the heated session. Once again the two roll, Bryan on top again, this time with his arousal pressing against Anastasia’s clit, Bryan’s arousal still grinding against her as the two’s bodies are still moving up and down against each other.

The moving of their bodies start to become more determined, more urgent, it driven by hunger, passion, sincere emotions and a longing to heal each other, to make each other feel nothing but happiness, peace and love. Moans and grunts are filling the room, the sounds of the howling wind replaced with the sounds of erotica.

A whole different type of essence is running through Anastasia’s veins, something that she has never encountered before, something that is making her feel like she is floating into an unknown bliss, there being nothing to anchor her, but she does not want to be anchored. These sensations that she is experiencing now, that are taking a mind of its own within her heart, body, soul and mind, she has never felt something like this.

Is this....is this what real intimacy feels like, the type of intimacy that has been created at the beginning of time, the type of intimacy that is meant to be felt between a man and woman but that had been destroyed due to the lustful nature of the humans? Is she finally feeling how it is suppose to feel when a man and woman connects on a spiritual level, on an emotional level, because if it is, she never wants to feel intimacy with any other man other than with Bryan. It feels so genuine, so beautiful, so sincere, and they are not even having sex. She has never ever experienced these beautiful feelings whenever she was having sex in the past, and she is actually happy about it.

Bryan has opened the sensual side of her, the true sexuality of her, the pure and raw sexuality of a woman, and it is so beautiful, her soul feels like it is crying out of pure happiness right now. His kisses, his touches, they are a type of magic or supernatural power that has awoken a side of her that has lay dormant for so long, and now she knows that they are meant for each other, that one day they will be together the way it should be, the way a man and woman should be together, that they were destined to be together.

Bryan’s body is moving on its own accord, his grinding of his hips becoming harder and faster, his erection pressing harder on the clit of Anastasia, she feeling how her legs are starting to become restless as the sensation of a clitoral climax is drawing nearer and nearer, and just like that, her legs tighten around Bryan’s body, her fingers digging into Bryan’s neck as she presses her head back into the pillow, breaking the kissing as she moans out that orgasmic moan, signalling to Bryan that she had just climaxed, he not even being aware that they were that heated.

Anastasia is panting, Bryan planting soft butterfly kisses all over her face as he feels how the grip of her legs and arms around him are weakening, she still trying her best to hold on to Bryan, the task proving a little bit difficult for her. The movement of Bryan’s body has also stopped, he just giving Anastasia a chance to come to grips with everything. No words are shared between the two as Anastasia is still coming down from her high and Bryan is still kissing her face all over, not stopping once in displaying his affections towards this ‘student’.

Bryan continues with his kissing until Anastasia suddenly cups his face in both of her hands, their lips almost touching, the two feeling each other’s breaths on their lips.

“Bry....” is all she says before reclaiming Bryan’s lips once more, he just smiling into the kiss as it quickly becomes very heated once more, and within a matter of seconds, it becomes passionate between the two once more, and with one swift move, Bryan sits up, pulling Anastasia with him in the process, he sitting on his knees with her arms and legs securely wrapped around his body, his erection once again pressing up against her entrance, the wetness of her panties pressing against her lady parts.

The two’s bodies’ start to grind against each other once more, Bryan driving his erection against Anastasia, she welcoming it all as her mind once again gets lost in all of the bliss and emotions of this new found intimacy between her and this strong man that she has had no idea can be so passionate, so caring and loving, and also so thoughtful.

Bryan’s arms are securely around Anastasia’s body, his fingers also pressing into her skin, and he also suddenly can feel his climax getting closer and closer as the head of his erection grinds against Anastasia, the material of his boxers and the movements all adding to the stimulation of his head. The grinding increases, his hips driving himself against Anastasia as hard as possible, the sensation increasing more and more until.....

The kissing stops as Bryan silently gasps against Anastasia’s lips, his hands also digging into her skin, pulling her even closer to his body, the blonde feeling how intense his grip suddenly gets, Bryan feeling how the sensation and life is leaving his legs as his essence is expelled into his boxers, the attack of pleasure coursing through his body. This was not planned but he is glad that it happened, for both of them.

Within seconds it is over, his body slightly trembling as his crisis had also passed. Anastasia knows what had just happened, his actions saying it all, as well as the sudden extra wetness that she is feeling between her legs. She kisses him softly on the lips, he returning it as best as he could.

“You okay?” Anastasia asks in a whisper, Bryan just replying with a silent nod.

The brawny man waits for his strength to return, and after it does, he gently places Anastasia back down onto the bed, giving her a last meaningful kiss before getting up and getting off of the bed.

“I’ll be back.”

“Okay.”

Bryan makes his way through the dark room towards his drawer where his clothes are and retrieves a clean boxer before making his way out of their bedroom, and towards the bathroom.

Anastasia waits till she hears the door of the bathroom close before jumping up, regretting it immediately as the cold crudely attacks her skin full force, but now is not the time to be a chicken. She also quickly makes her way towards the drawer of where her underwear is. She also has to put on a pair of clean underwear; there is no way she is sleeping with a wet panty. She feels for her pack of wet wipes, a little obsession she has had since she can remember.

Anastasia proceeds to do what she has to do and soon enough she is dry and clean once more, although almost completely naked. She starts to pace around in the door, suddenly unsure of what to do: should she get dressed again? What if Bryan gets back into his bed and she is still naked? Not only will she most probably shiver to death, but she will also feel like a complete idiot.

‘Get a grip; you are a grown woman, just get into bed without clothes on, just lie deep under the covers.’

Anastasia starts to feel for the covers and quickly pulls them in an almost neat manner before jumping back into bed, covering herself so that only her nose is uncovered a little, and also just in time because just then she hears the door of the bathroom open, the steps of Bryan being heard on the wooden floor.

She listens to how he moves around in the room, the drawer open and closing, and just as Anastasia is certain that he will go back to his bed, she feels the covers being lifted, Bryan taking his place behind her once more, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her closer to him, she also inching closer to him. Bryan kisses her shoulder, Anastasia caressing his cheek in the process, before the two cuddle even closer to each other, both of them smiling to themselves about what had just happened between the two.

“Night, Bryan.”

He hugs her from behind, gently whispering into her ear, ‘night, kid’, the blonde shivering from the sensation of his warm breath on her ear.

Anastasia places her hands on his arms, softly stroking them as she once again takes in the body heat of Bryan, the soothing and calming heat that she knows she will never find from any type of blanket. She continues to listen to Bryan’s deep and gently breathing until she is fast asleep, the howling wind outside completely away from her mind.

Bryan continues to lay awake for another few minutes until he is certain that Anastasia is fast asleep before placing a last soft kiss in her neck, getting comfortable and also just dozing off into a blissful sleep, a soft smile still adorning his face.

May the two of them have the most pleasant dreams as they both deserve it.

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His body is covered with blisters, it burning from the unforgiving cold weather; his feet are hurting, a pain shooting through his legs with every step he takes, he can’t feel his fingers and his body is beyond weak. How he can still be alive in this condition, and at this age, it really a miracle, that is all he can think of.

He has no idea where he is and he has not encountered another human being this entire time. He has no idea for how long he has been walking, but all he knows is that he is not going to make it for much longer.

Boris stumbles a few feet more, his feet leaving bloody marks within the white snow with every step he takes, his arms wrapped around him, his lips blue, his hair covered with snow, he shivering like hell as the sun is slowly rising. He is on the far outskirts of Moscow, the area looking abandoned if one looks at the buildings that have broken windows, and some buildings having been demolished. He has been running in the harsh weather since the explosions at his mansion. He has not even had a chance to comprehend of what had happened, the cold not allowing him to think about it.

Boris finally comes to a standstill, his body unable to go any further. His vision is blurry and all he can see is the white snow all around him, the white mat surrounding him. He continues to stare out in front of him until he finally collapses, darkness slowly consuming him, until it consumes him completely.

In the distance a car can be seen, it driving slowly as the snow makes a crunching sound underneath the tires, it slowly making its way down the icy road until it comes to a stop just a few feet away from Boris, the old man unconscious.

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How does a person wake, or let’s ask it this way: when does a person really wake up? Excluding the alarm clock, some people can sleep until noon, others can’t sleep past sunrise; it all probably depends from person to person. Some wake up because they have a full bladder, others wake up because they get a headache from lying in for too long. Science says it all has to do with the hormone Melatonin, the hormone that kicks in as soon as the sun sets and then stops working when the sun rises, the hormone that alerts the body now is the time to sleep or to get up, but that also depends on how much sleep a person has had the previous night.

The sun is slowly rising, the icy forest looking like a place from some fantasy land as the sun’s rays glistens over the beautiful white snow, the snow almost giving off a golden orange glow.

The cabin where the four residents are currently residing at, are still looking asleep from the outside, although on the inside not all of them are still asleep.

Anastasia finally wakes, but through her sleepiness she quickly realises that she is alone in her bed, and she is certain that she did not fall asleep alone. Feeling that it is freezing, she refuses to turn around to investigate. If Bryan has gotten back into his own bed, then that is just that; there is nothing she can do about it, although it does make her feel a little disappointed.

She can hear movement downstairs, certain that it is the other two guys making breakfast, although she cannot hear any voices. Her thoughts drift back to what had transpired between her and Bryan in the early hours of the morning, it bringing a smile to her face, her stomach suddenly doing a few flips of just thinking of their passionate kissing, how he had touched her; even her back starts to tingle all over with the image of Bryan on top of her, kissing her all over in a passionate way, his lips feeling so soft against her own lips, those big manly hands roaming her body and touching her in a way that can drive any normal female insane. Subconsciously she touches her lips with a finger, reliving it all within her mind, how their bodies moved against each other, their kissing that had left her heaving on numerous times, Bryan’s soft kissable lips moving expertly along with her own lips.

‘That had to be the most erotic moment of my life, learning all about intimacy with Bryan. Good Lord, can that man kiss?! When last had I been kissed like that, probably back in New York with that friend of Vladimir but not even he had made me feel this....so alive. I feel like a real woman, and that all thanks to the guy that always appears so cold and emotionless, like he has no compassion for another person.’

While still being lost in her own thoughts, Anastasia suddenly hears footsteps coming upstairs, hoping that it is Bryan, she being filled with a sense of delight the moment the door to their room opens up, the air quickly being filled with the aroma of coffee.

Bryan looks at the blonde, her hair a complete mess as the top of her head pokes out from underneath the covers, the rest of her completely hidden by the many covers, the almost comical sight bringing a smile to the big man. Bryan places the two mugs of coffee on the night stand next to Anastasia’s bed, he gently pulling away the covers, kissing the blonde on her shoulder.

“Get up, kid; we have a long day ahead of us,” he says against her skin, while keeping his warm hand on her exposed shoulder.

“So tired,” she mumbles back, she finding it hard to hold back her smile because Bryan had just kissed her again, even if it was just on her shoulder.

“The coffee is getting cold quickly, so unless you want to miss out on it, you have to get up.”

Anastasia just turns around, her sleepy eyes meeting Bryan’s eyes, the man once again wishing that he could have looked into those precious eyes during the night, during their very heated moment.

“You made coffee? No take away coffee this time?” Anastasia asks, clear shock evident in both her voice and on her face, causing Bryan to just roll his eyes at her while nodding his head.

“Wow, the cold really has gotten to your brain, hasn’t it,” she says in a chuckling voice.

“Just get up.”

“Can’t we just lie in for a few minutes more, please? Pretty, pretty please?”

“No.”

“Ah come on, it is freezing; just five minutes, that’s all I am asking.”

Bryan just sighs, finally agreeing to her request, despite him also wanting to lie in for a few minutes more, if only to have her in his arms for a little while longer. Bryan climbs under the covers, taking the blonde in his arms, the two snuggling close to each other.

“You do realise that we have to sleep in separate beds tonight, right?”

“Yeah, I know, but it was fun while it lasted,” is all Anastasia can manage to say, she suddenly feeling a bit down upon that inconsiderate announcement.

Bryan places a kiss on the front part of Anastasia’s head, she lifting her head to kiss him, but it does not stay with just a simple peck. Bryan pulls Anastasia on top of him as the kissing intensifies between the two, it becoming heated and passionate once more. Bryan wraps his arms around her body as she has her hands pressed on his chest, tongues swirling as they once again start to explore each other’s inner caverns, enjoying every feel and touch, taking all of each other all over again.

For a good few minutes, more than five minutes, the kissing continues until Anastasia can no more, and pulls away for some air, she sitting up straight, straddling Bryan’s pelvic area while his eyes take in the view of her toned body, her toned stomach, her tattoo, her breasts, everything that he could not see during the night. He holds her hips in a firm grip, the blonde looking down at him while sensually running her fingers all over his chest and stomach, feeling his rock hard abs.

Their eyes finally meet after admiring each other’s upper bodies, Bryan feeling like he can get lost in those green pools of her, they luring him in to some kind of trance that he cannot escape from as long as he looks into those eyes, but he does not want to look away.

“You really are a beautiful woman, both inside and out,” Bryan suddenly blurts out without even thinking of saying something like that, this catching Anastasia completely off guard.

She does not say anything in return and just goes down immediately, planting her lips on Bryan’s lips, the two starting to kiss in an almost urgent manner. Bryan’s grip gets firmer on Anastasia’s hips, his arousal growing once more. He sits up straight, Anastasia wrapping her arms around his neck as she straddles his lap, her breasts pressing up against Bryan’s body. The two lost in their own little intimate world once more as their bodies start to move in perfect sync once more, passion and desire filling them all over again, the two mugs of coffee all forgotten on the nightstand, as well as the rest of the world, for now.

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Grunting and groaning can be heard through the trees as two men are fighting against a woman, all three having a weapon in hand, as another man is just standing on the side, observing the entire fight.

It is already three weeks into the training, and just as Bryan had expected, Anastasia has learned quickly up until now, mastering the blunt weapons quickly. Right now, she, Grigory and Yurik each have a staff in hand, she blocking them almost expertly, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. She has to master each weapon from each class, the blunt weapons, edged weapons and also the projectile weapons, and after that she has to combine each weapon with her various fighting techniques.

In the beginning of the trip Bryan was a little uncertain on whether three months will be enough for Anastasia to learn everything, but by the looks of it, three months may be more than enough for the determined young woman.

Bryan is standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest, watching the foot work of Anastasia, she clearly remembering everything that he had taught her about the various things to remember with her foot work, all to prevent herself from tripping over her own feet. Her body language shows just how determined she is to learn all that she can, each movement being more determined than the previous one, her eyes speaking a thousand words as she looks on at how her opponents tries to strike her; she really is a fast learner and also a very smart woman, very calculative and observant. The day she will be ready and fully trained, she will be a force to be reckoned with. There will come another time in the future where they will have to come back to the cabin because Anastasia still has to learn how to work with guns, but for now the various weapons are more than enough.

Luckily Anastasia has also come more adapted to the brutal cold weather, she not complaining so much about it anymore. She and Bryan still have their passionate nights but they try to sleep alone most of the nights, only sleeping on one bed two nights a week, mostly over the weekends, those two nights usually being filled with nothing but closeness and intimacy between them, no sex involved.

Bryan continues to observe the fighting until Yurik gets beat down very harsh by Anastasia, she just smirking as she lingers over Yurik, her staff pressed against his throat.

“How’s that for an ass kicking?” she asks him, still gloating over her victory, but unbeknownst to her, Bryan silently signals to Grigory to attack her from behind while she is distracted, he obeying the silent instruction.

While still gloating over her victory, Grigory attacks Anastasia from behind by striking the back of her knees, causing her to fall to her knees, Grigory disarming her of her staff and then taking her arms in a submission hold, rendering the blond completely helpless and very vulnerable. Yurik quickly jumps to his feet and then takes up his staff once more, he being the one that has his staff pointed to her neck.

“Now whose ass had just got kicked, Blondie?” Yurik asks in a gloating manner while Anastasia still remains in her submissive position.

“That’s enough; let’s take a break,” Bryan commands in his strong voice.

Grigory releases his hold on Anastasia, Yurik helping her up. The other two men walk over to the cabin to get some water, while Anastasia heads to Bryan to hear his opinion on the practice session.

“You celebrated way to early, your attention not being on both men, and that is why you lost, kid. In real life you will not celebrate when you have over powered an opponent; you will only do that when you are completely safe, out of danger’s way and all on your own so that no one can witness your ego. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good; go get something to drink so that we can start all over again.”

Anastasia just nods her head and then jogs towards the cabin to also collect a well deserved drink, Bryan just staring afterwards, watching at how her blonde ponytail bounces as she jogs, he softly smiling to himself upon seeing that view.

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Boris is walking slowly through the abandoned street while being dressed warmly, he just doing some sightseeing in the area that he has been calling home for the past month.

It has been a month since that dreadful day that he had collapsed in the snow, the old mob boss certain that it had been his last day on earth, but fortunately for him destiny had some other plans for him. The car that had stopped near him on that fateful day had been the car of an elderly couple who is living in this abandoned part of the city, they not finding it in their hearts to just leave their house like that to go and live in the city, seeing as the house has been in their family for a very long time.

The elderly couple had recued Boris, nursing him back to health, and although he has not recovered completely, he is getting much stronger by the day. Boris had also discovered that everything that he had owned had been destroyed; his mansion, his various warehouses, cars, everything has been destroyed and he cannot seem to get in touch with any of his members that had worked for him. Not even his alliances seem to want to get in touch with him. Boris had finally figured it out that only one person can have that amount of power, Kai Hiwatari.

The old man is filled with rage at how the young man had managed to destroy everything that had taken him years to build, and unfortunately Boris has no way of getting back on his feet. For some unknown reason, there is no money in his accounts; in fact, all of his has bank accounts have been closed, the money that were in the accounts have all been transferred to an offshore account, there being no way for Boris to get his money back. Kai really has destroyed Boris’s empire beyond repair.

Boris continues to walk down the street, his hands in the pockets of his coat, when he suddenly spots a large building in the distance, it immediately peaking his interest.

The closer he gets to the building, the clearer it becomes, it being an old abbey, and just like everything else in the area, it is also abandoned. Boris proceeds to walk in to the yard through the rusted old gates, finally entering the building, there not being anything interesting. From the outside the abbey looks like a large place, and with the right funding it can be transformed into a well functioning abbey once more. Boris continues to walk from one building to another, trying to look for anything interesting, but finds nothing.

Just as he is about to give up, a small lever draws his attention, it almost fully hid from view. Boris pulls the lever and to his surprise, stairs to a lower level appears, and without thinking twice, he starts to descend down the stairs, it leading to an underground level, and despite this abbey being abandoned for who knows how long, there are still a few lights shining within the hallway, although the illumination is not of the best. Curiosity getting the better of him, Boris starts to walk all along the hall, and to his amazement, he discovers a few very interesting rooms filled with all types of technology, and he also discovers a map that outlines the entire abbey, both underground and above ground, the place being much bigger and more complex than anyone can comprehend, there being at least five levels underground, all supposedly serving a specific purpose.

“Well, well, seems like I might just get back on my feet after all,” Boris says to himself, the sly smile a clear indication of what plans are already forming within his wicked and twisted mind.

Boris continues exploring the underground levels, each level filling him with a sense of delight more than the previous one. There is a lot of work that needs to be done but Moscow is filled with people who do not want to work for a boss in a dead end job, and would much rather work where they can make easy money, and what better way is there than getting involved with the crime world.

“Watch out, young Kai; you may be known as the black phoenix of Russia, but I will be the one that will rise from the ashes this time, not you,” the old man says to himself, before bursting out in laughter, a type of laughter that sounds beyond sinister and that can make anyone feel very uneasy.

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The four ‘forest dwellers’ are sitting comfortable around a large fire and all four have finished eating their dinner some time ago, and had also cleaned the kitchen, and now they are all just enjoying the peacefulness of the icy forest. Yurik and Grigory are sitting on one side of the fire, with Bryan and Anastasia sitting opposite of them, Anastasia being the only one with a blanket wrapped around her.

Today has been yet another gruelling day for Anastasia, and unfortunately both she and Bryan have the bruises to show for it. Today had been Anastasia’s first time holding a katana, better known as a samurai sword, and she did not realise just how sharp the sword can really be. Bryan first had to teach her how to hold it correctly, how to feel the sword and after he was sure that she was safe with it, he started to show her how to handle it, and he was certain that she had it under the belt as she had already proven over and over again that she is a very fast learner, but this time he was very mistaken, because the moment he started to duel with Anastasia, all hell broke loose as she did not only manage to inflict wounds on herself, but also on to him.

The wounds are nothing serious, just a few cuts here and there, but Bryan blames himself for trusting her too early with such a weapon, but he knows that after a few days of training, she will have mastered the katana. There are still so many weapons that she has to learn on how to fight with, and also how to use them while being involved in a fight, but luckily they still have a month left and that is enough time for the blonde haired woman to learn.

“Well, I think I’m off for a proper shower since all of you guys had already had your share, and then I am going to show a bed how sleeping is done. Night you guys,” Anastasia says and gets up, making her way into the cabin, Bryan just continuing to look at the flames, while the other two say ‘night’ back to the blonde haired woman.

The three guys remain sitting around the camp fire for a while longer, just talking about anything that comes up, until Bryan also gets up and greets them night, heading inside, leaving Yurik and Grigory to stare at him while he heads inside.

“You think they are doing yet?” Yurik asks his friend while looking back at the dancing flames.

“She is too quiet, so no.”

“I thought so too. We both have heard Bryan with a woman and it is never quiet, especially the movements of the bed.”

Grigory just snorts at that, knowing exactly what Yurik means by that.

“I just wish I knew what exactly is going on between those two, whether they are in love or something, because it is driving me nuts.”

“You and me both, man, you and me both.”

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Anastasia has just gotten back into the room after a long and hot shower, and is wearing only her bathrobe while standing in front of her drawer, deciding on which pair of socks she wants to put on, and also deciding on how many pairs she wants to put on for the night. She hears the door of the room open softly and then close again, the footsteps of the person coming closer to her as the creaking of the wooden floors indicates the footsteps, it coming to a stop right behind her, two strong arms embracing Anastasia from behind, she just leaning against the body while entwining her fingers with Bryan’s fingers.

“I think after today we both need some TLC,” Anastasia says in a joking manner, Bryan not saying anything.

Instead, he starts to loosen her bathrobe, his hands moving up her body as he pulls it slightly down, exposing only her shoulders as he starts to place soft kisses on her right shoulder, Anastasia just cupping his right cheek while tilting her head to the left side to expose her neck area more.

“I have missed you,” is all she says in an almost quivering voice, Bryan’s heated kisses on her skin doing unspeakable things to her body and mind right now, pleasurable things, sensual things.

“I am here now,” he replies in a huskily voice, speaking with that tone against her exposed skin, his warm breath on her skin tickling her skin, and sending tingles throughout her entire body.

Bryan proceeds to pull the robe down completely, it falling to the wooden floor, leaving Anastasia in only her panties, his hands starting to roam the front side of her body: over her stomach, all along her sides, the curves he loves to trace with his hands, and stroking her stomach area some more until he reaches her breasts, he slowly starting to massage them with both of his two hands as his kisses move up her neck, until they meet Anastasia’s lips as she turns her head to the right, her right hand gently pulling on his hair while her left hand is over his, mimicking the movements of his hands over her right breast.

Bryan’s senses are running amok as Anastasia’s scent is tingling and teasing his senses, her natural scent mixed with that of her shower gel, the two being a deadly combination in Bryan’s opinion. A seething fire is pulsing through his veins, his heart beating at a rate and force that he can hear clearly within his ears, his manhood already starting to get a life of its own as his burning desire for this beautiful tigress grows by the second, and once again, he can feel that primal cave man side of him beat from the inside, wanting to get out so that he can just throw her onto the bed, making her his woman, but the rational side of himself is also beating on the inside, or more like trying to beat down the cave man.

‘I have to have more,’ is all he thinks to himself before quickly turning Anastasia around so that they can face each other, he just reclaiming her lips once more while pulling her close to him, his hands squeezing her ass as the kissing starts to become more intense.

Unconsciously Bryan starts to direct the two of them towards the bed, his bed to be exact, and when the back of Anastasia’s legs press against his bed, he gently guides her down onto his bed by placing both of his hands on her shoulders and then pushing her down in a gentle manner, the two not breaking from the kissing once, until Anastasia is completely sitting on the bed. Bryan stands up straight, looking down at the blonde, her eyes glistening with desire, he certain that they are reflecting his current state of emotions right now. He proceeds to remove his T-shirt while kicking of his shoes at the same time, Anastasia taking it upon herself to help him unbuckle his belt and to pull down his jeans, Bryan’s fully erect manhood meeting her when she pulls his jeans down.

Bryan leans down and cups her face in between his hands, taking her lips as his own once more while Anastasia moves into position so that her head is resting on his pillow, Bryan following her until he is lingering over her. Anastasia places her hands on his hips and guides them down onto her pelvic area, Bryan placing his hands on the bed on either side of her head as the two just stare into each other’s eyes for a short period of time, their eyes glistening in the light of the paraffin lamp, their eyes speaking their emotions and desires right now.

As they keep eye contact, their heads start to move closer and closer to each other until their lips meet with an aching hunger, Anastasia immediately moaning into Bryan’s mouth out of sheer pleasure, her secret lady area pulsing with lust as her entire body comes into contact with Bryan’s body, their naked skins creating new passion filled emotions upon touching each other.

Who knows how long the two will be able to last before taking each other and finally making the love that they both are yearning for, and that they both have been yearning for, _for_ some time now?

The rest of the night turned into another moan and groan filled night as the two got lost in their passion filled world once more, both reaching their climax the same way that they have been reaching it since their very first night together, and probably will continue to reach it this way, until the two starts taking it a step further, which only time will tell on whether that will be able to happen or not. For now, both are content with how things are between the two of them.

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_“I am in some dire need of strong caffeine, I can literally inject myself with it right now.”_

_“Must you always be so dramatic?”_

_“Must you always be so dull? No wonder you went into law. There is nothing more boring than that.”_

_“We’ll see whether you will still say that when I have to come and bail you out of jail one day, sister love.”_

_Anastasia says nothing on that and instead just pokes her tongue out towards her brother while smirking at him, Vladimir just rolling his eyes at his sister._

_“But seriously, there is still more than enough time to get a good cup of coffee before you guys have to go back.”_

_“Fine, fine; just go get your caffeine fix before you start going complete Anastasia Grekov here, and I am sure no one is ready for that horror show.”_

_“Just for that, I am going to piss in your coffee.”_

_“You wouldn’t dare, twerp.”_

_“You want to bet?”_

_“That’s enough you two. Why must you two always embarrass the Grekov family? Demyan, honey, I am really sorry for these uncivilised children of mine. I really cannot remember why we had to choose these two from the sewer when we went looking for children? They are just so.....yeah, there just are no words anymore,” Alisa says while shaking her head in a defeated manner._

_“It’s okay, Mrs Grekov; I find it very entertaining,” Kai says in a chuckling voice, “Why don’t I walk with you so that we can get coffee for everyone, Ana?”_

_Anastasia just grins at him, hooks her arm under his and then drags him away from her family, he just grinning from ear to ear._

_The airport is very busy as everyone is trying to get back home after spending their holidays with their loved ones._

_The two young adults continue to walk through the crowds, trying to push their way through everyone without causing anyone to fall flat on their ass. Kai spots a door in front with the words ‘Stock Room’ and quickly yanks Anastasia towards the room, the young blonde utterly confused by this sudden action. Kai silently prays that no one is inside of the room, and when he opens it, relief comes washing over him as it is completely void of anyone else, and after quickly closing the door, he, in a somewhat gentle manner, pushes the blonde up against the wall, lifting her up, her legs automatically wrapping around his body as his lips crashes onto hers with a desire that is burning like a mystical fire within his body while holding her ass in a firm grip, Anastasia’s arms firmly wrapped around his neck._

_The two youngsters are kissing like the survival of the human race is depending on it; tongues wrestling each other for dominance, teeth occasionally grinding against each other and spit being produced by the gallons, figuratively speaking. Kai can feel how the passion inside of his pants is starting to grow once more for this spontaneous blonde that he currently has pressed up against the wall, his body yearning for her and his heart aching for her and for the fact that this is the last time that he will ever feel her luscious lips against his own, and he hates it that he has to say good bye to her._

_Neither of the two keeps track of time, and by the time they break away for air as Kai could feel himself starting to get a little oxygen deprived, Anastasia’s phone had already had two messages from her brother, asking what is taking them so long._

_Anastasia releases her hold on Kai and he gently places her feet on to the floor, while still keeping her arms around his neck, and he is holding one hand on her left butt cheek, his other hand gently cupping her cheek, while his thumb softly strokes her bottom lip as the two keep their foreheads pressed against each other._

_“I don’t want to say good bye, Ana.”_

_“Then don’t. I am sure whatever job you have in Moscow, you can also find it here in the States.”_

_Kai just sighs at that, “I wish things were that simple,” and before Anastasia can say anything else, Kai kisses her again, but this time in a more gentle way, the way a lover kisses his love in a meaningful way, letting the feel of their lips on each other say what needs to be said. This continues for another few minutes before Kai’s phone rings, it being Vladimir that is calling. Kai does not answer but both he and Anastasia know that this is good bye._

_“We have to go,” Kai says while pulling away from Anastasia, and then walks towards the door, but halts when he hears Anastasia talk again._

_“I will never forget you, Demyan.”_

_Kai turns around and softly cups her cheek, looking deep into those beautiful and very unique spring green coloured eyes of hers, his heart in turmoil over never seeing her again._

_“It will be for the best if you forget about me, Ana; I am not worth remembering.”_

_“Don’t say that, Demyan,” Anastasia now being the one who is cupping Kai’s face in both of her hands. “You are a wonderful man and I will always remember you, and I hope that one day our paths will cross again; you know what, I am sure it will cross again. I have a feeling that destiny will bring us together again, and I will hold on to that, and you should also, okay?”_

_All Kai can do is to just nod at her, placing a last soft kiss on her lips, before the two make their way out of the room._

_“Ana....”_

_“Anastasia.....”_

“Ana.....”

Kai slowly opens his eyes, blinking a few times, while realising that his left arm is outstretched on his bed as if searching for something, or someone. He slowly sits up and pats Iris as she comes rubbing herself against him, Tiger remaining at the foot of the bed. Kai switches on his bed lamp, glancing at the clock and sees that it is just past one AM.

“It was just a dream, girl; a silly dream that is actually a flashback more than a dream,” Kai softly says to Iris as she continues to purr as Kai continues to pat her. Kai reaches for his wallet and removes the laminated photo of the Grekov family, the blonde in the front catching his eye first. Kai continues to look at the photo for a while longer, while being deep in thought; he does not even realise that Iris had fallen asleep on his lap, and only sees it when he wants to get up.

He places her gently on his pillow and then gets up, also patting Tiger on his head as he walks past his cat, heading for his closet to get dressed as he is going out. That is all that will help with this mood that he is currently in, and that all because he has had a flashback in the form of a dream about the only woman he has ever had feelings for, other than sexual feelings.

After getting dressed in warm clothes, he switches off the lamp and closes his bedroom door halfway, both cats not interested in following Kai downstairs. Kai goes to his garage, opens the door, starts his bike and then races out, his bike clothes being warm enough to protect him against the harsh cold weather. He races down the streets, with only one destination in mind.

Feeling the bike vibrate underneath him, the torque running through him like it is his life force, is what he really needs now in order to forget all about that silly dream. He has not thought of Anastasia for a very long time now, but apparently his brain has had other ideas tonight, that flashback opening up a whole new can of worms.

That day at the airport when he had to say good bye to her, had been one of the most miserable days of his entire life, and he has had some horrible days. He had no idea that it could hurt so much by saying good bye to one woman, but then again, Anastasia never were just a regular woman in his eyes. Vladimir apologised numerous times on the flight back and also after they had landed, but it was never Vladimir’s fault in the first place. Kai had known back then that it will be for the best for Anastasia to not get involved with someone like him, because there is nothing good that will ever come off of it, and that is how it will stay.

‘May our paths never cross again, Anastasia; I really hope that destiny does not have that planned for us.’

Kai finally reaches his destination after who knows how long, he slowly driving though the gates of the cemetery, heading towards the Grekov tombstones. He knows where they are buried as he has been there a few times just after they had been buried, but it has been a long time since he has paid them a visit. Kai stops his bike a distance away from where the tombstones are situated and gets off, walking to the three tombstones while removing his helmet and just coming to a standstill right in front of them, his one hand in the pocket of his leather trench coat, his other hand holding on to his bike helmet.

This time there are no thoughts occupying Kai’s mind, it is just a complete blank. Kai looks at Vladimir’s tombstone the longest, he suddenly having a sense of longing for his former best friend.

The cemetery looks gloomy, dark and dead, as if the dead does not want anyone to disturb them by giving off such an unsettling aura, but Kai does not care; dark and abandoned places do not scare him, and should some unwise thug think it wise to attack Kai right now, that dullard will join the land of the dead. The gentle breeze that has been blowing since Kai had arrived has suddenly picked up speed, the leaves of the trees ruffling, sounding like something out of a horror movie, as the wind almost sounds like it is howling as it is blowing over certain tombstones and through certain trees.

The howling is not what is bothering Kai, but the sudden decrease in temperature, and even if he is a strong man, no wise person will remain being outside in this type of weather. Kai turns around and gets back on his bike and then places his helmet back on before starting the bike and slowly driving out of the cemetery. The moment he is outside the gates of the cemetery, he pulls on the throttle and starts to race, but he has no intention of heading home right now as there are still two places that he wants to check out before heading back to his place, the first place being a penthouse in the city.

The streets are somewhat quiet, only a few cars here and there that are driving around in the city at this time of night. The various lights all over the breathtaking buildings just show once again what a magical place Moscow is in the winter, despite it being such a cold place. Kai overtakes a few cars while heading to his destination and finally arrives there, but stops opposite the building, and he does not get off of his bike. Kai glances up at Vladimir’s old penthouse, seeing that there are no lights on.

‘What did you expect, idiot. It is in the middle of the night, people are asleep,’ Kai scolds himself within his mind. Vladimir had told Kai that he had made the place out in Anastasia’s name, but who knows whether the blonde had kept the place. Maybe she went back to the States after the death of her family to start a new life there; that would have been the wise thing to do anyway.

After just a few minutes of looking at the place, Kai once again starts his bike and races off to his last destination of the night, this one being situated in the suburban areas of Moscow, the old Grekov house, and just like Kai had done at the penthouse, he stops from across the house in the street, but this time he gets off and walks to right in front of the house, just looking at it, and also just like at the penthouse, there are no signs of life, no cars in the drive way, nothing; not even a dog to bark on the inside of the house to alert the residence of the presence of a stranger.

‘The last time I had set foot here, was when I had taken your life, my old friend.’

Kai just stares at the house, once again lost in his own thoughts, this time it being about the night that he had murdered the three family members in their sleep, slicing their throats like they were nothing to him. Kai can still remember their peaceful faces while being fast asleep after he and Tala had drugged them.

Kai shakes his head vigorously while keeping his eyes shut as he tries to get rid of all the sudden memories that are suddenly flooding into his mind, memories that he does not want to remember.

‘Just get out of my head!’ he yells on the inside as he starts to clutch his hair, trying to rid his mind of the memories, ‘Think of women, think of naked women, think of your cats, just think you idiot!’

Kai tries his best to think of anything else, and luckily for him, after a struggle, his thoughts start to linger to the elder woman that he had spent a weekend with, how she knew stuff that had almost made him blush, how she had moved in ways that can put a few high class escorts to shame, and soon enough, Kai has a very self satisfied grin on his face, accompanied with a semi-erection, this just adding to Kai’s grin even more.

“Looks like we are not going home anytime soon,” Kai says to his growing bulge, and without even glancing at the house one more time, Kai gets back on his bike, placing his helmet back on his head and then starts the engine, kicking up the stand. He races down the peaceful street, not caring who he is going to wake with the noise of his bike. All Kai cares about now is getting a woman on her back, or on all fours, as he is in the mood for some hot action right now, and he will not fall asleep while he has a throbbing within his pants.

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“Again!” a woman’s voice demands, that being all that can be heard in a remote area, followed by the clashing of two katana swords, Bryan and Anastasia once again combating each other. The two have been at it for the last two hours, and both are covered in cuts and sweat, but there is no sign of Anastasia wanting to quit any time soon.

They still have two weeks left before they return back to the city, and although Anastasia should be practicing on how to handle her projectile weapons, the Grekov woman has fallen in love with the katana, and she constantly wants to fight with the samurai sword. She has become very skilled in it, surprising all three males of just how skilled the Grekov woman really is in handling the sword.

Bryan can’t help but be utterly astounded by how Anastasia has improved in her fighting skills. She only uses one arm, the one that she is wielding the sword with, and she is doing it flawlessly. Her footwork, her body movements, how she improvises with various techniques, it is all just flawless, almost seeming like she has been doing it all since a very young age.

Anastasia no longer acts like her old self, but instead acts like a true warrior, a warrior fighting for nothing but honour, her eyes showing the determination and fighting spirit within herself. Her psychology has finally developed into that of a true martial arts fighter, and not in the sense of being more aggressive or out for blood, but more in the sense of being more in control of her emotions; that impatient Anastasia is no longer present, and instead a controlled and level headed woman has taken her place, but luckily for Bryan, that crude Anastasia that has captured his heart is still present, but only if they are not fighting anymore, much to his own relief.

The two swords clash once more, but this time Anastasia uses her left knee and kicks Bryan on his right upper thigh, and not in a light manner, this causing him to lose all feeling in his right leg, resulting in him to drop down on to his right knee. Anastasia retreats and again swings her sword at Bryan, he blocking her attack immediately despite being on the ground. Once again Anastasia retreats, taking a few steps back while smirking down at Bryan, he still trying to get the feel back into his right leg.

With a very self satisfactory smirk dawning her features, Anastasia charges at Bryan, holding her sword above her head as if she wants to attack him by hitting his head, Bryan holding his sword in front of him to block the attack, but to everyone’s shock, Anastasia flips over Bryan, landing right behind him, turning around to face the back of his head, and then presses the tip of her sword right behind his neck as to sever his spinal cord. Bryan drops his sword in to the snow in defeat, as Yurik and Grigory starts to clap their hands at Anastasia’s spectacular fighting skills that they had just witnessed.

“Say uncle,” is all the blonde haired woman says to Bryan, while still smirking at him.

Anastasia removes the katana from Bryan’s neck and then walks to his front and extends her hand towards him as to help him get up. Bryan looks at her hand, and then at her, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth before taking her hand, but instead of getting up, he yanks Anastasia down on to him, he landing on his back with Anastasia on top of him, their faces only a few inches away from each other. Both Yurik and Grigory just roll their eyes at the two, knowing full well that the two are probably going to engage in some saliva exchange with each other.

“Let’s go get some coffee before our eyes are exposed to some indecent exposure,” Grigory comments, Yurik just nodding his head, the two starting to walk towards the cabin without glancing at Bryan and Anastasia who are still in the same position, the two just looking deep into each other’s eyes.

“You did good, kid,” is all Bryan says, his hot breath tickling Anastasia’s lips.

“Thanks, and sorry if I had hurt you; I can lie and say that it was not my intention, but in all honesty, I just got caught up in the moment. If you want, I can massage it later tonight.”

Bryan just shakes his head from side to side, before giving Anastasia a meaningful kiss on her soft lips, and then pulls away so that he can look into her eyes once more, “I’ll be fine, kid; besides, I think that I would much rather do something else than receive a leg massage,” the soft smile of Bryan already being an indication to Anastasia that tonight is going to be one of those intimate and magical nights between the two of them, and she can hardly wait.

Anastasia says nothing, and instead just plants her lips onto Bryan’s lips, the two of them quickly becoming locked in a passionate kiss, but unfortunately for the two, it does not last long because Bryan can start to feel how his body is starting to react to the snow. Anastasia gets up and helps up Bryan, his leg already feeling much better.

“Let’s go get water, rest a while, and then start practicing again. I have a lot of energy today, and I want to do all that I can today.”

Bryan just nods his head in agreement with Anastasia, and then starts to make his way towards the cabin with Anastasia right beside him.

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“With all due respect, Mr Hiwatari, I cannot see why you cannot start up your own pharmaceutical company, even a bigger one. I mean, you have all of the necessary resources to do so, and also to make a success of it.”

“True, Mr Stepanov, but that is going to take a lot of time, especially if I have to try and find someone of your calibre. Please reconsider our offer, Mr Stepanov.”

The 50-something man that is currently sitting across from Kai and his right hand man in the business, Nestor, just sighs while once again looking at the contract that is laying right in front of him on the table, a contract that will assign his whole company to Hiwatari Enterprises, should he decide to sign it right now. He looks at the offer that the company will compensate him with, and although many will call him an idiot for turning down such an astronomical amount, he just cannot see himself selling his company, because it is his children’s inheritance one day.

He has built the company from scratch, and although it is not very big, it is the leading company in the manufacturing of top of the art pharmaceuticals, and also various chemicals that is used all over the world. It is his pride and joy, his legacy that he is going to leave for his children, and that alone is worth more than all of the money in the world.

“I really am sorry, Mr Hiwatari, but I just have to decline on your offer. I just cannot sell it.”

“If you want more money, we will increase it, and if you are unsure of your work, don’t worry because you will still be in your current position, along with all of your current employees. All that I want is that it becomes a part of Hiwatari Medical Care; surely you can understand the mission that I have.”

Another sigh is heard, Stepanov still not wanting to sell his company, “The money is not the issue, Mr Hiwatari. I have built this company all on my own and I have made it what it is today; surely you can understand how it feels to own something that you alone have built up over the years. Would you even have considered selling this company if you were in my shoes?”

“Probably not,” is all Kai says, the young business man fuming on the inside, he trying his best not to show his true emotions right now. He wants Stepanov’s company because it has proven to the rest of the medical world over and over again that it knows what it is doing; and also, if he should get complete control over the pharmaceutical company, he will not just use it to the advantage of his company, but also to the advantage of his mob, especially regarding the chemical department. However, that dream does not look like it is going to be a reality any time soon.

“Very well, Mr Stepanov, I respect your decision, but if in the future you change your mind, the offer will still be exactly the same.”

“Thank you, Mr Hiwatari, and it had been a real honour to me that you have shown such a great interest in my company, but I doubt that I will reconsider your offer.”

Stepanov, along with his lawyer, stands up, Kai and Nestor following suit; all four men shake hands before Nestor walks out with Stepanov and his lawyer, leaving Kai alone in the boardroom. A hateful and bitter scowl takes over Kai’s face, he just glaring at the contract that remains laying on the table.

‘Incompetent mongrel; you will pay dearly for turning down my offer, Stepanov. Clearly you do not know me, and what I am capable of. By declining my offer, you have just brought a whole lot of trouble for you and your family. You all will pay dearly for refusing me, that is a promise,’ Kai thinks to himself while still glaring at the contract.

With the hateful scowl still on his face, he turns around and goes to stand in front of a window, he just overlooking the skyline of Moscow with his arms crossed in front of his chest, while his mind is running amok with various ideas on how he is going to make Stepanov regret his decision.

Nestor comes walking back into the boardroom after a few minutes, he just seeing Kai looking out over the scenery, he already knowing full well in which mood Kai is currently in.

“That was a real disappointment, Mr Hiwatari; that company would have been a great asset to Hiwatari Enterprises.”

Kai says nothing and remains looking out in front of him, he not acknowledging his right-hand man. Nestor is use to this treatment by now; he knows that his employer can be very temperamental, especially if he has not achieved what he had wanted. Nestor says nothing else and then makes to retrieve the contract, Kai immediately halting him, by just commanding him in a stern voice to ‘leave it’.

“As you wish, sir. Is there anything else that I can do for you before I go back to my office?”

Kai gives no answer, he keeping his back towards Nestor, the employee seeing it as his cue to leave, and does just that, leaving the contract on the table.

‘No one says no to me, Stepanov,’ a sadistic smirk developing at the corners of Kai’s mouth while he still looks out at the world outside of his boardroom.

‘No one’.

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The crackling of the wood burning in the fireplace can be heard, along with the soft moans of a woman, as two naked bodies are currently caught up in a very heated and very passionate moment. The fireplace is complimenting the entire room, both the light and heat being radiated off from the dancing flames just adding to the intimate mood that is already filling the room.

It is their last night in the woods, and Bryan had decided that he and Anastasia deserves a very special night, and what better way is there than spending it in front of the fireplace in absolute comfort and bliss. Bryan had told Yurik and Grigory earlier during the day that after they had all gone to bed, that the two men should remain in their room because the living room will be occupied. Yurik could not resist in teasing Bryan about his romantic side, this resulting in him getting punched on the arm by both Bryan and Grigory.

Right now, Anastasia is on her back on top of the mattress from Bryan’s bed, the aforementioned man being on top of her, his left arm perched up right beside the left side of her head, his other hand cupping her face while the two are locked in a very passionate kiss, Anastasia’s hands gripping onto Bryan’s back. They have been caught up in this intimate space for quite a while now, Anastasia’s hair a clear indication of it; her beautiful blonde locks are all over the place, but neither she or Bryan cares about that right now. For Bryan, it just adds to the moment, he finding her dishevelled hair very attractive, especially if he knows that he is the reason that they are in this current state.

Their tongues are doing their own private dance within each other’s mouths, their lips are already feeling slightly bruised, their lungs aching for some well deserved oxygen, but there is nothing that will pull these away from each other any time soon.

Well.....

Bryan can hear footsteps coming down the stairs, he abruptly pulling away from Anastasia so that he can glare at whoever is coming down the stairs right now. The person finally comes walking into the living room, Bryan lowering himself onto Anastasia so that he can shield her naked body from Yurik’s view.

“Sorry, sorry, but I really need a glass of water right now.”

Bryan growls inwards, this action causing Anastasia to burst out laughing.

“It’s okay, Yurik,” is all Anastasia says through her laughter, Bryan not finding anything funny.

The two can hear how Yurik pours himself a glass of water, and instead of heading back upstairs with his glass, he remains in the kitchen, finishing the glass of water before pouring himself another glass, and by now Bryan is beyond impatient with his friend.

“Yurik! Hurry up already!” he says in a loud and very stern voice, Anastasia just looking up at him with amazement at just how passionate the guy really is, Bryan having his head faced in the direction of the kitchen.

Yurik finally comes strolling out of the kitchen, glass in hand and just grins at Bryan and Anastasia’s direction, she also returning the grin despite almost being completely covered by Bryan’s body; Bryan just glares at Yurik for his rude interruption.

“Yo Ana, don’t hold the guy’s balls in such a tight grip; no wonder he is in such a foul mood,” Yurik jokingly says in their direction, this almost causing Bryan to pop a vein.

“Yurik!”

“Sheez, I’m going, I’m going.”

“Night, Yurik,” Anastasia says, she trying to stifle another fit of laughter.

“Night, you two,” is all Yurik says before finally making his way up the stairs, Bryan still glaring afterwards, until Anastasia pulls his face towards her, the two locking eyes.

“Relax, grumpy, the guy just needed some water.”

“I am not grumpy.”

“Of course not, but anyway, where were we?” Anastasia asks seductively while lowering Bryan’s head towards her own until their lips meet once more.

Their skins are already clammy and the covers are lying in a pile some distance away from them, the two only in their undergarments, and both of them are very aroused. Bryan’s member is pressing against Anastasia’s throbbing clit, her sacred area once again aching to have Bryan within her; he too is aching to be within Anastasia, to make love to her like she deserves, and he does not want to do it in the way that it is always portrayed in romance novels or in the movies, no, he wants to do it in a meaningful way, making sure to please her like a woman needs to be pleased, to let loose that inner goddess of her, to fully fulfil her sexual spirit, their life forces mixing, their essence filling each other, their bodies connecting on a deep spiritual level, the way a man and a woman’s body should connect.

Lord knows that he has been restraining himself for a very long time now, and it is not becoming any easier, but he has to do it, because he knows, should they end up making love, he will not let her go. He will keep her from getting to Kai; he will keep her with him for as long as he can, and he knows that he just cannot do that, because that is being selfish.

Without registering of what had just happened, Bryan lands on his back. Somehow Anastasia had managed to flip him over, she now being the one on top, straddling his hips, while her blonde hair is cascading over her body, partially covering her breasts. They are heaving for air, and this break will allow them to get some well deserved oxygen.

“You sneaky minx,” Bryan says, he not hiding his developing smirk. He places his hands firmly on her hips, Anastasia placing her hands on top of his, and then starts to grind her pelvic area against Bryan’s pelvic area, Anastasia ensuring that she is completely stimulating the head of Bryan’s quivering member, this causing the lavender haired man to groan.

The two continue to keep eye contact until Anastasia involuntary closes her own, the arousal pulsing through her body, causing her to tilt her head back, removing her hands from Bryan’s hands, and placing them on his upper legs as her body is slightly leaning backwards, and in the process giving Bryan a spectacular view of her breasts, her perky breasts slightly bouncing as she continues with her grinding. Bryan cannot tear his sight away from Anastasia, his own arousal intensifying, he suddenly becoming aware of just how close he is to the edge.

“Ana, we have to slow down, please,” Bryan says in an almost trembling voice, he moving his hands up her sides as to divert his attention away from his coming crisis.

At first she does not pay him any attention, but then she suddenly realises that Bryan had just called her Ana, and he has never called her that before. She stops her grinding and brings her head back and looks into Bryan’s eyes, his eyes almost pleading with her to stop, and she has never seen that look before.

“You okay?”

“Err, yeah, but we have to slow down, please.”

Bryan sees how the look in Anastasia’s eyes change and it is not changing for the better; she almost has a malicious look within her eyes, he not liking that look at all, it almost unsettling to him because it is the first time that he has ever seen her look that way.

Anastasia places her hands on Bryan’s chest, stroking her fingers up and down in a teasing way, Bryan placing his hands back on her hips, holding on to her in a rather firm grip.

“Why should we slow down, Bryan?” Anastasia’s asks with a voice that is also sounding malicious now.

She proceeds to lean down, and without any warning, takes Bryan’s left nipple in between her teeth, tugging at it with her teeth, Bryan just gasping at the very unexpected sensation it causes throughout his entire body, he involuntary arching his upper body while digging his fingers into Anastasia’s skin.

Anastasia continues to play with the hardened nipple, her grinding commencing once more, Bryan giving out a moan.

“You did not answer, Bryan; why should we slow down?” she asks between nips of the nipple.

Bryan cannot answer; it is like his voice had just disappeared, this pleasurable and merciless assault on him being the cause of it all.

Anastasia glances at Bryan, seeing his eyes closed and his forehead almost frowning, almost as if he is in some type of agony, she just smiling a very sly smile upon seeing that. She then starts to tug on his bottom lip, teasing him.

“Are you about to come, Bryan? Is that why we should slow down?” Anastasia asks, the sly tone within her voice as clear as daylight.

While tugging on his lower lip, she starts to increase her grinding, focusing mainly on the head of Bryan’s throbbing member, the man groaning once more while keeping his eyes closed.

“Come for me, Bryan,” she seductively whispers in his left ear, her warm breath on his ear being all that is needed to fully send Bryan over the edge, the orgasm ripping through his entire being as he grips tightly onto Anastasia, while the blonde keeps grinding her hips against his ejaculating member, milking him of everything that he has. Bryan gasps as the orgasm continues to assault his inner being, clouding his mind and completely emptying it from all thoughts.

Anastasia enjoys watching Bryan quiver underneath her, seeing this big guy so completely vulnerable beneath her. At last she feels his grip on her loosen, she grinding her hips a few more times before seizing all movement, placing her hands on Bryan’s chest and feeling how it is heaving.

Bryan can feel how wet the inside of his boxers are, all thanks to the cheeky blonde that is currently sitting on top of him. He slowly opens his eyes, looking straight into her eyes, that malicious look still visible within those beautiful eyes of hers, it accompanied with an equal malicious smirk.

“Hi, Bryan; how are you feeling?” Anastasia innocently asks while teasingly stroking her fingers over Bryan’s chest.

“I have no words for you right now, kid.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Hn. Can you please be so kind as to get off so that I can go to the bathroom?”

“No.”

“What?”

As to emphasise on her answer, Anastasia crosses her arms in front of her chest.

“I said no; are you suddenly deaf, or what.”

Bryan is in no mood to play games right now. He just wants to get a clean pair of boxers, so that he can exact revenge on this cheeky blonde for what she had just done to him. Bryan says nothing else, and instead sits up straight, takes hold of Anastasia within his arms, and casually flips her over, leaving the blonde beyond shocked. Bryan gives her a quick peck on the nose and then gets up, hurrying up the stairs.

Within a matter of minutes, Bryan has finished up, and makes his way back downstairs, stopping right in front of Anastasia, the blonde casually laying on her back with her arms behind her head, she just grinning up at Bryan. However, her demeanour quickly changes when Bryan starts to grin back at her.

“Time for payback, kid.”

“Shit.”


End file.
